While in a meeting with Mr Kishida, he urged Japan, which is not a claimant in the South China Sea disputes, to “avoid interfering in and hyping up the maritime spats”, according to state-run news agency Xinhua.
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China was particularly vexed by Japan’s involvement in the statement against it, with a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman urging Japan “not to hype up and meddle in the South China Sea issue” because it is “not a concerned party” and because “its disgraceful history” leaves Japan in “no place to make irresponsible comments about China”.
Earlier Monday, the bloc, however, omitted from a joint statement any mention of a recent global arbitration panel ruling in a dispute between the Philippines and China that said Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea were illegal.
The grouping could have leveraged the recent decision by a permanent arbitration panel, which ruled in favor of the Philippines in a case it brought against China in their dispute in the South China Sea.
On a visit to Manila, Kerry said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) issuing a statement was a success because it covered “every single value of the rule of law”. “But we knew there was a middle ground”, he said.
It says all disputes should be resolved bilaterally.
The South China Sea is a lucrative area that contains ample oil, gas and fishery resources, while it also facilitates approximately Dollars $5 trillion worth of trade each year (hence being one of the world’s key seaborne trade routes).
The tribunal views its award as legally binding, but China has always refused to recognize its jurisdiction and did not participate in the proceedings.
The former Philippine government, headed by Benigno Aquino III, unilaterally initiated the South China Sea arbitration against China in 2013.
The ASEAN foreign ministers held three rounds of talks on Sunday in Vientiane, Laos, but could not reach a consensus on whether to chide China over its expansive claims over the South China Sea.
Kerry, who arrived in Manila on Tuesday after attending a regional summit in Laos, met with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.
Speaking to reporters during a joint press briefing with Philippines Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay during a two-day trip to Manila on Wednesday, that Kerry had said the rights of all countries should always be respected.
Numerous countries make claims to oil and gas reserves in the area, and millions of ordinary people still earn their livelihood from fishing in the South China Sea.
The US’ top diplomat said that Washington wanted China and the Philippines to engage in talks and “confidence-building measures”.
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A senior US official said Washington and Manila “are cooperating intensively not only on regional and global issues, but also in very practical issues such as law enforcement and maritime capacity building, implementation of our EDCA”. Their two nations have a 65-year old mutual defense treaty, and in 2014 signed an Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, which allows for an increased US presence on Philippine soil.
