Amid continued murmurs that China may move to implement an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) over the South China Sea, the United States’ top diplomat issued a sharp warning to China.
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With tensions in the South China Sea once again dominating a regional summit, China has accused the United States of “provocations” in the area for selfish interests – its latest salvo fired at Washington.
Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post has reported that China plans to establish an outpost on the shoal, located 230 kilometres off the Philippines, which considers it part of its exclusive economic zone.
The Philippines filed the lawsuit with the United Nations’ mandated court under the Convention on Law of the Sea, questioning whether or not China has a legitimate claim to the territories in the South China Sea.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan said yesterday that stakeholders in the region should “avoid a zero-sum mentality” with respect to the South China Sea and major power dynamics.
The Shangri-La Dialogue was most likely the last regional security meeting before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague releases its ruling on challenges by the Philippines to China’s maritime claims over much of the South China Sea. The guns are reportedly used to prevent vessels from sailing too close to the island.
China claims nearly the entire sea. It is now guarded by the CGA. “I believe this will help the USA play a better role in the region”, he said.
It is hard to find effective measures to restrain China’s assertiveness, and Japan and the United States have made complementary efforts to put more pressure on China while strengthening their cooperation with neighboring countries.
“It’s up to us to ensure that America and China are more partners than rivals”, the US Secretary of State tweeted on Monday.
“It’s in America’s interest to show that other countries are equally concerned about this issue”, said Peter Jennings, executive director of the Australia Strategic Policy Institute, who was at the conference in Singapore. In contrast to his predecessor Benigno Aquino, Mr Duterte has said he’s willing to engage China in bilateral talks on the issue – a proposal which China has welcomed.
Said Victor Gao, director of the China National Association of International Studies: “Fundamentally, what’s going to dictate the future course of development in the South China Sea is not this illegal arbitration”.
But Xi, speaking as the meeting opened, also noted that the two sides have been able to maintain mutual understanding and cooperation in addressing North Korea’s nuclear ambitions. “Together, we helped to negotiate the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and resolved the global community’s 10-year-long concern about Iran’s nuclear program, and we together removed a major threat to the stability of the Middle East and to the danger of proliferation”, he said.
China’s Vice Premier Wang Yang speaks during the Economic Dialogue of the 8th round of U.S.
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China is claiming the entire oil- and gas-rich South China Sea, while the Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, Brunei and Malaysia hold overlapping claims.
