China’s foreign minister has dismissed reports that it has deployed an advanced surface-to-air missile system to one of the disputed islands it controls in the South China Sea.
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China’s moves to assert its sovereignty claims in the South China Sea are expected to be discussed during a visit by Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop to Beijing on Wednesday. Relations between China and the United States have also been strained after USA naval vessels have sailed to close to islands claimed by Beijing in the region in recent months.
A senior USA official told CNN that the decision to deploy while the summit was happening was a “further demonstration of China’s attempt to unilaterally change the status quo” in the South China Sea.
Woody Island is part of the Paracel Island chain in the South China Sea, which has been under China’s control for over 40 years.
“Interested parties should work together to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea region and refrain from taking any unilateral measures that would increase tensions”.
Both a USA defence official and a statement by the Taiwanese government confirmed the apparent deployment of eight missile launchers and a radar system on Woody Island in the past week.
China, Taiwan and Vietnam have competing claims in the area and the U.S. has objected to any “militarising” of the islands.
No other details of the deployment can be disclosed, Lo said.
President Obama has launched a new effort to help all ASEAN members understand the key elements and reforms of the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact between 12 nations, including four ASEAN member states, and eventually lead other ASEAN members to join the pact, which does not include China.
“We will conduct more, and more complex, freedom of navigation operations as time goes on in the South China Sea”, Harris told a briefing in Tokyo.
“China’s presence is tacitly accepted”. “We note that [Chinese] President Xi [Jinping] said in Washington that China did not intend to militarise the constructions in the South China Sea and we hold China to that”.
The South China Sea is the passageway to more than half of the world’s annual merchant fleet tonnage and a third of all maritime traffic worldwide, according to Robert D. Kaplan, chief geopolitical analyst for Stratfor and author of “Asia’s Cauldron”.
Tsai said parties should also work on “self-control principles” to find solutions, when asked about the issue by reporters on Wednesday.
Emphasizing China’s construction on the islands is mainly for providing public goods to the worldwide community to facilitate maritime search and rescue, protect fishing activities as well as deliver emergency medical treatment, Hong made it clear that he believes that the global community will have the chance to use these facilities when they are ready.
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Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei responded by saying Australia should adopt an “objective and unbiased attitude” toward South China Sea matters. The missiles have a range of about 200 kilometers (125 miles), making them a threat to all forms of civilian and military aircraft.
