While Obama affirmed a commitment to the Philippines’ security and to freedom of navigation in regional waters, a senior official in Beijing said China was the real victim of the waterway dispute because other countries had illegally occupied islands there.
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China has overlapping claims with Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei in the South China Sea, through which $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year.
China’s island building in the Spratlys was not about militarisation, Liu said, adding for example that too much attention had been placed on the length of China’s airstrips.
Of the five nations involved in the territorial disputes, only Brunei has no military fortifications on the Spratly islands.
“The Chinese government has the right as well as the capacity to recover the isles and reefs illegally inhabited”, Liu told reporters in Beijing.
“But we haven’t done this”.
One US Navy (USN) guided-missile destroyer is building relations with China and another is patrolling the contested South China Sea, while President Barack Obama is signalling strong support for U.S. allies opposing Chinese maritime claims.
From Manila, a lot of the leaders go on to Kuala Lumpur to attend an East Asia summit in the weekend.
As China increases its presence on the world stage – Xi is visiting Turkey and the Philippines this week, Paris and South Africa next month – observers say a few of Washington’s traditional allies are adopting the “dual-track” system, already in place in a few East Asian countries, in which China is seen as a key economic partner while the U.S. is a security anchor.
President Xi is now in Manila to attend the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation(APEC), where talks about the tensions in the South China Sea are expected to be tackled on the sidelines.
Xi also arrived in Manila on Tuesday, but didn’t make any public opinions.
“My visit here underscored our shared commitment to the security of the waters of this region and to freedom of navigation”, said Obama, flanked by a group of about two dozen USA and Philippines uniformed navy personnel.
Beijing claims virtually the entire South China Sea and has sought to reinforce its position by rapidly constructing artificial islands capable of hosting military facilities.
Obama said the Philippines would get a decommissioned US Coast Guard cutter to be turned into a new warship that will “bolster the navy’s ability to conduct long-endurance patrols”.
Obama will on Wednesday meet Xi at the start of the APEC summit, which groups leaders from 21 Pacific rim economies that account for more than half of the global economy.
Najib said China’s work to deepen reform in an all-round way generates more opportunities for the two countries to boost cooperation, and Malaysia looks forward to deepening cooperation on finance, infrastructure and inter-connectivity with China, adding that Malaysia supports the Belt and Road initiative.
The South China Sea is a rich but dwindling source of fish and is believed to have large reserves of hydrocarbons under its seabed.
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The South China Sea won’t be an exception to the US military’s policy of operating wherever the law allows.
