However, following the East Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur, which brought together leaders of Asia-Pacific countries including the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations members, Japan, China, South Korea and the United States, he has ruled it out.
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Obama said he commended Asean for working to create a code of conduct for the South China Sea “including the peaceful resolution of disputes, freedom of navigation and freedom of overflight”.
China has declared ownership of virtually all of the South China Sea, conflicting with the various claims of Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Brunei.
Beijing claims control over most of the South China Sea, which includes most of the sea routes supplying China with energy resources, along with a number of island rich in natural resources.
Having attempted to keep the South China Sea off the agenda, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang lashed out in a closed-door session yesterday of the ASEAN-sponsored East Asia Summit, at which Obama was present.
The U.S.is trying to preserve influence in Asia and China to gain it. China is looking to translate its economic clout into greater military sway, with the South China Sea becoming the focal point of the broader geopolitical shifts in the region.
On Saturday, US President Barack Obama called on the South China Sea claimants to halt reclamation, construction and militarization of disputed areas. “Both of our nations are maritime nations and we have a key interest in freedom of navigation”, he said via a translator Sunday.
Beijing insists it has undisputed sovereignty over most of the stretch of water – a claim that overlaps with four other countries attending the summit.
Obama on Saturday called on countries to stop building artificial islands and militarizing their claims and said the United States would continue to assert its freedom of navigation rights in the sea.
The Malaysian business leaders, for their part, said they support and stand ready to participate in the docking of China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Malaysia’s development strategies.
The 10th annual summit had been expected to focus on the threat of global terrorism following remarks made by President Barack Obama on Friday.
The tensions over these islands have been growing over the last years since China began artificially expanding the territory of these islands to construct airstrips and other military infrastructure.
China has been constructing facilities in 7 disputed features in the South China Sea. China has mostly built civilian facilities, he said, adding that China rejects the notion it is militarising the South China Sea.
In a statement later during the plenary meeting, Jokowi said forest fires in Indonesia, which sent smoke to countries in the region, “should not be a reason to prompt unfriendly public opinion on the country”, saying that his government had carried out efforts to mitigate the problem, including through “strong law enforcement”.
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Philippine President Benigno Aquino said the presence of the U.S.in the Philippines should help defuse tension in the region.
