WASHINGTON, Aug 26 (Reuters) - The United States on
Wednesday targeted 24 Chinese companies and a number of
individuals it said were part of ongoing construction and
military actions over disputed islands in the South China Sea,
the U.S. State and Commerce departments said.
The U.S. Commerce Department, in a statement, said the two
dozen companies played a "role in helping the Chinese military
construct and militarize the internationally condemned
artificial islands in the South China Sea."
The State Department, in a separate statement, said it would
impose visa restrictions on Chinese individuals "responsible
for, or complicit in," such action in the South China Sea, and
those linked to China's "use of coercion against Southeast Asian
claimants to inhibit their access to offshore resources."