At the ASEAN summit on Saturday, Chinese Premier Li said “freedom of navigation in the South China Sea in line with global laws had never been hindered and that his country was willing to quickly conclude with ASEAN countries the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea on the basis of consensus”.
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Washington has sided with China’s rivals in the territorial dispute, with Beijing accusing the United States of meddling in the regional issues and deliberately stirring up tensions in the contested waters.
(AP Photo/Susan Walsh). President Barack Obama walks off of the stage after speaking at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Business and Investment Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Saturday, November 21, 2015.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin said Beijing will continue its construction activities despite calls from US President Barack Obama and Philippine President Benigno Aquino III to stop the work to reduce tensions.
On land reclamation in the disputed waters, the Prime Minister said that several leaders had raised the matter and expressed concern that such action would change the status quo. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan have rival claims.
Earlier this month, US B-52 bombers flew near China’s artificial islands, signalling Washington’s determination to challenge Beijing over the disputed sea.
The new ASEAN-U.S. Strategic Partnership outlined five priority areas of engagement.
In late October, the US Navy’s USS Lassen passed through a 12-mile limit around Subi Reef in the Spratly Islands archipelago, claimed by China.
Liu’s comments at the annual East Asia Summit, this year hosted by Kuala Lumpur, were a few of the most forceful explanations that China has given regarding its position on the South China Sea.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak put in perspective that when it comes to freedom of navigation and overflight, all countries agreed that there should not be any interference and that there should be respect.
Liu said that there are more than 100 islands, reefs, atolls and shoals in the Nansha islands, using the Chinese name for the Spratlys, and almost 50 only emerge at low tide.
Najib said he had meant to open the summit to talk about an economic community that Asean is launching this weekend in a region of 622mn people with a combined economic output of $2.5tn. “So we call on all countries not to link their construction on islands and reefs with militarization”, he said, urging countries that have “illegally” occupied China’s islands to demilitarize those facilities.
“The Philippines has always adhered to the rule of law, and our decision to resort to arbitration reflects our belief that it is a transparent, friendly, durable, and peaceful dispute settlement mechanism that can bring stability to the region…”
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China’s top admiral has said his forces have shown “enormous restraint” in the face of U.S. provocations in the South China Sea, while warning they stand ready to respond to repeated breaches of Chinese sovereignty.
