 The United States welcomes competition and does not seek conflict with Beijing, but the country will speak up on issues like the South China Sea, Vice President Kamala Harris said on Thursday. She was speaking to a news conference marking the end of a trip to Southeast Asia. Harris attacked Beijing multiple times during the regional visit, and this was as Washington tries to rally regional partners to take on China's growing economic and military influence. The Chinese Foreign Ministry shot back on Wednesday. It accused the U.S. of meddling in regional affairs and disrupting peace. Harris also said evacuations in Afghanistan rather were dangerous and difficult, but the mission must be seen through. We welcome stiff competition. We do not seek conflict, but on issues like you raised the South China Sea, we're going to speak up. We're going to speak up when there are actions that Beijing takes that threaten the rules-based international order, again such as activity in the South China Sea. The issue in particular of freedom of navigation in that regard is a vital issue for this region. Our highest priority right now is evacuating American citizens, evacuating Afghans who worked with us, and Afghans who are at risk with a priority around women and children. We have made significant progress in that regard. I believe it's since August 14th, I believe we have evacuated over 80,000 people. And as you know, each day and night we continue to evacuate thousands of people, understanding that it is risky for them to be there. It is a dangerous and difficult mission, but it must be seen through and we intend to see it through. Hello. If you enjoyed the news, please do subscribe to our YouTube channel and don't forget to hit the notification button so you get notified about fresh news updates.