Abe has also reiterated his support for Manila’s arbitration case against China and he said construction activities in the South China Sea are only increasing tension in the region and must be stop.
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In his last ASEAN summit, Aquino also devoted a length of his intervention to discuss a historic step the Philippines took under his leadership: to sue China before a United Nations-backed tribunal over the dispute.
“While the Bank of Japan literally ignored the renewed fall in (the third quarter) GDP in today’s policy statement, we think that a likely moderation in underlying inflation will eventually force policymakers to introduce more stimulus”, Marcel Thieliant, Japan economist at Capital Economics said in a statement.
Aquino said freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea must be in line with worldwide law.
The agreement was signed after the bilateral meeting between President Aquino and Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Hotel in Pasay City.
“The reaction to what it has done in the South China Sea for the past two years or so, whether in ASEAN or around the world, seems to be a net minus for China’s image”, he said, referring to China’s creation of islands by reclaiming reefs in the South China Sea, whose sea lanes carry nearly US$5 trillion (S$7 trillion) worth of trade each year. The United States has taken a neutral position on the specific claims, but Obama has defended the right of free navigation in the South China Sea, encouraged a peaceful resolution of the dispute and reinforced ties with countries that fear being bullied by Beijing. The two leaders met on Thursday night at the close of the Apec summit.
China has said it does not want the South China Sea issue to be the focus of the meetings in Kuala Lumpur but acknowledged the topic would be hard to avoid. A few of the maneuvers included sending B-52 bombers over the islands and a destroyer within China’s 12-nautical-mile zone.
On Tuesday, Obama also announced more than US$250 million (HK$1.95 billion) in maritime aid to its Southeast Asian allies including a warship and a research vessel for the Philippines.
The same day Wu made the remarks, China’s official Xinhua news agency declared in a commentary that USA freedom of navigation operations are “hegemonism” in disguise.
Keeping to the script, Xi told a business conference in the APEC summit, that China is overhauling its economy to raise the living standards of its citizens. The slowdown has affected a host of countries like South Korea and Australia with considerable exports to China.
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China, however, has repeatedly claimed that its land reclamation is legal and has “no intention to militarise” the islands it has created from submerged reefs.
