United States aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt is now slated to transit through the South China Sea on Thursday with Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter on board.
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Carter and his Malaysian counterpart will be on the USS Theodore Roosevelt as it sails through the South China Sea.
“What we sign on the joint declaration is not going to resolve the issue of duplicating claims nor is it going to wish vessels that are in the South China Sea away”, Hishammuddin said, The Associated Press reported.
Last week the USA sent a guided-missile destroyer, the USS Lassen, on a brief patrol inside the 12-nautical-mile radius that China claims as its territorial waters around Subi Reef, an artificial island built by the Chinese.
The sail-by infuriated Beijing, which called it a violation of its sovereignty over the island chain.
An Asean official confirmed to AFP that there would be no joint declaration, but that Malaysia would issue a chairman’s statement that is likely to touch on the maritime issues. READ BLOG:risky tussle: All parties to the South China Sea dispute must exercise restraint China and the ASEAN countries had inked the declaration in 2002, which is not legally binding, to ensure peaceful resolution of disputes in SCS.
Conference host Malaysia had planned to release a statement at the end of the two-day forum but a senior USA defense official said China had scuppered that. “It reflects the divide China’s reclamation and militarization in the South China Sea has caused in the region”.
However, due to the delicate nature of the issue and out of consideration for China, Nakatani did not state in detail what he said about the South China Sea after his meeting with Chang.
Founded in 1967, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. We have navigated throughout the seas up to the Antarctic.
The gathering brings together the defense ministers of the ten Southeast Asian countries together with ministers from other countries, including China, Japan, India, Australia and the US.
“The Chinese side expressed its rejection under the understanding that the South China Sea issues are basically matters pertaining to diplomatic authorities and this matter should not be reflected on the document of defense authorities’ forum”, the official added. “We urge all claimants to permanently halt land reclamation, stop the construction of these facilities and cease further militarization of disputed maritime features”.
China and its allies in the bloc have in the past opposed statements directly criticizing Beijing over its actions.
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“The Chinese people and military will not stand for any infringements of China’s sovereignty and relevant interests”, Chang told Carter at the meeting, the Chinese Defense Ministry said in a statement.
