The Chinese government told United States and Australia not to play up the issue in West Philippine Sea.
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China claims most of the South China Sea and last week its foreign ministry warned that Beijing would not stand for violations of its territorial waters in the name of freedom of navigation.
US Defense Secretary Ash Carter, joined Secretary of State John Kerry and their Australian counterparts Marise Payne and Julie Bishop in Boston.
USA naval vessels sailing through global waters in the South China Sea, including areas claimed by China, can not be considered provocative, the U.S. Navy’s most senior uniformed officer said on Thursday, while a Chinese newspaper called for a firm response to any “unscrupulous” US behaviour.
The Indo-Pacific is a strategic system encompassing the Indian and Pacific oceans, reflecting the expanding interests and reach of China and India as well as the enduring role of the US.
Meanwhile, the official declined to comment on what the exact plan that the two countries have decided on.
“You know, doing the 12 nautical mile challenge is one among a variety of options that we’re considering”, a USA official said.
Welcoming the rise of China, the White House has stated that the brand new standing for the Communist big comes with important obligations like upholding a world order that advantages massive nations.
The Global Times, a widely read and influential tabloid, said in an editorial that these potential USA patrols were not really about freedom of navigation, but a show of strength meant to emphasise US global hegemony.
“Australia and America both want to sustain and renew an Asia-Pacific regional security architecture where everyone rises and everyone prospers”, Carter said.
“But make no mistake”, he continued.
China has maritime territorial disputes with several of its southeast Asian neighbors and is trying to bolster its claim by building artificial islands. “The United States will fly, sail and operate wherever worldwide law allows, as we do around the world”.
“It’s an important precept primarily as a result of within the South China Sea we’re speaking a few area of the world the place a good portion of the world’s commerce flows”.
Bishop expressed support for “the principles of freedom of navigation and freedom of overflight”.
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And the South China Sea is not and will not be an exception.
