The negotiations, however, are overshadowed by a growing rift over the South China Sea. The 8th round of Strategic and Economic Dialog between the United States and China kicked off Monday in the Chinese capital.
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Xi addressed the opening ceremony of the two-day bilateral dialogue, attended among others by Secretary of State John Kerry, as he called on the U.S. and China two nations to “properly manage differences and sensitive issues”.
French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told the forum that the European Union had a stake in maintaining freedom of shipping and navigation in the South China Sea, and said he would speak to his counterparts on the issue.
Kerry had warned Beijing at a news conference days earlier that the Chinese establishment of an air defence zone over the South China Sea would be a “provocative and destabilising act”.
Sun said the issue must be resolved through dialogue.
China has said it will not respect the court’s decision and there are fears in Manila that China may retaliate by declaring an air defence identification zone in the disputed waters or by reclaiming disputed Scarborough Shoal. At the same time, he implicitly rebuked the USA for conducting freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea, where the US has sailed near reefs that China says belong to it.
Tensions are at an all-time high in the South China Sea, where a game of geopolitical chess is taking place between China, the US and other nations over territorial claims and military build-ups.
“Any countries not directly concerned are not allowed to sabotage our path of peace for selfish gains”, Sun told the annual security forum known as the Shangri-La Dialogue.
Secretary of Defense Ash Carter warned Beijing Saturday at the summit that Beijing risks creating a “great wall of self-isolation” if it continues its militarization of the South China Sea.
“So we urge China not to move unilaterally in ways that are provocative”.
China claims almost all of the South China Sea despite competing partial claims by several Southeast Asian neighbours as well as Taiwan.
CHINA said yesterday that freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea has never been a problem.
“How can other people rather than your own homeowner play around in your house, if I may say”, Reth said of the China-U.S. tensions. China, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam all dispute the sovereignty of various island chains and surrounding waters, which has triggered a number of flashpoints and standoffs in recent years.
China stepped up its island-building activities in the South China Sea as the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague is expected to rule on a case brought by the Philippines in the coming weeks.
Major General Yao Yunzhu, of China’s Academy of Military Science and prominent figure during the weekend sessions, acknowledged perceptions that some nations might be “ganging up” on China but said this did not represent “objective reality”.
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China supported tougher United Nations sanctions following North Korea’s fourth nuclear test in January.
