US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter also attended, warning yesterday Chinese construction on a South China Sea islet claimed by the Philippines would prompt “actions being taken”.
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During a previous summit held in May past year, Carter called for China to halt reclamation work around reefs in the South China Sea.
“They discussed the need for peaceful resolution of disputes in the South China Sea in accordance with worldwide law, and Secretary Carter noted that the UNCLOS Arbitral Tribunal ruling on the Philippines-China claims will be binding on both parties”, Mr Cook said.
If it continues along the same course, Carter said, “China could end up erecting a Great Wall of self-isolation”.
Meanwhile, China has its “One Belt, One Road” policy and is seeking to advance business opportunities through the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), he said.
Among the challenges that China should face as part of the US-backed Asian security network Carter mentioned “Russia’s worrying actions, North Korea’s nuclear and missile provocations, the threat posed by extremist groups, or the growing strategic impact of climate change”.
“In fact, the United States and China will sail together from Guam to Hawaii for RIMPAC, conducting seven exercise events along the way, including an event to practice search-and-rescue”, Carter announced. “If you have an unstable region like what we have in the Middle East, I don’t think economics and prosperity will really (be) enhanced”.
He added that the United States would remain the “most powerful military and main underwriter of security” in the region for decades to come.
Zhao Xiaozhuo, a senior colonel in the People’s Liberation Army, said Carter’s tone was “gentler and more low key than I had expected”.
“I think it is important to improve regional countries’ capabilities by…combining joint training, capacity building assistance and defense equipment and technology cooperation”, Nakatani said at the Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD) gathering.
Oh Ei Sun, an analyst at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, agreed the atmosphere at Shangri-La seemed more conciliatory this year.
China has argued the court does not have jurisdiction in the dispute and says it will not abide by any ruling.
Chinese ambassadors from the United Kingdomto Sierra Leone have penned articles explaining its position, alongside paid supplements like one published in the Saturday edition of the Telegraph newspaper in the United Kingdom.
A Chinese official responded by saying Japan should be careful “not to interfere and stir up problems” in the waterway, while China’s foreign ministry also weighed in regarding the USA and Japanese comments. The US does not support any nation’s claims and insists that the entire South China Sea is global space. “All of us will suffer irrespective of whether we are big or small states”.
Carter said the US and Laos would co-host an informal defense ministers’ meeting in Hawaii in September. Obama held a summit with Asean leaders in the U.S.in February.
Asked by a Chinese professor in a question-and-answer session why the USA was focusing on China, Carter said it should not be interpreted as a dispute between the two nations.
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Carter had earlier made similar accusations against China in a speech delivered at the US Naval Academy.
