In recent months, the U.S. has also gotten involved by sailing ships through contested wates, much to China’s anger; most recently a USA spy plane was intercepted by two Chinese fighter jets over the area.
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China will bring up topics including the Taiwan question, Tibet and maritime security, and it will respond to the Korean peninsula nuclear issue which the United States is expected to raise, China Daily on Tuesday quoted officials as saying.
Rodrigo Duterte and Xi Jinping.
China has noted the American partnership with the Philippines with concern and encouraged the U.S.to remain neutral in South China Sea territorial disputes.
In contrast with Aquino, Duterte has said he is willing to engage China in bilateral talks on the issue.
Since the election, Mr Duterte has adopted a more conciliatory tone on the sea dispute than President Benigno Aquino, who brought China before an global arbitration tribunal over its claims to 80 per cent of one of the world’s most strategic waterways.
Zheng said the United States, which is not a claimant in the South China Sea disputes, has pledged not to take sides on issues involving territorial sovereignty. However, the two still have many common interests, the officials said.
However, he has also played to nationalist sentiments by saying he would ride a jet ski to plant a Philippine flag on disputed islands in the sea.
China has beefed up its armed forces and integrated its power-projecting capabilities in an attempt to lead the establishment of worldwide order in the South China Sea, Cheng said.
The boundaries of the Philippines on the map were marked by a red line, which the South China Sea islands, including the Nansha Islands and the Huangyan Island, clearly lie out of.
“We hope the USA side will keep its promise”, Zheng said, urging the United States to make judgements in accordance with facts rather than favoring its allies.
“China welcomes Mr. Yasay’s remarks”, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said at a regular news briefing according to Xinhua news.
Tensions have been rising steadily over the South China Sea, driven largely by China’s military buildup and more robust assertions of its claim to virtually the entire crucial water body, along with its islands and reefs.
But one source said the timing of any declaration would depend on security conditions in the region, particularly the United States’ military presence and diplomatic ties with neighboring countries.
One source was quoted as saying a move was dependent on whether the US “keeps making provocative moves to challenge China’s sovereignty in the region”.
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China’s top diplomat, State Councillor Yang Jiechi, will take this up with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at their talks, Zheng added.
