The accusation by Chinese vice foreign minister Liu Zhenmin came after the East Asia Summit in Vientiane ended without reprimanding China on its assertiveness in the waters, actions that have strained ties with its neighbours.
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He said this goes against the trend of solving disputes through dialogue and consultations.
The U.S. military has also expressed concern over the possibility that China might turn Scarborough into another island, something that would give Beijing’s forces greater control over a swath of the South China Sea used as a passageway to the Taiwan Strait.
Liu was referring to an worldwide arbitration case, brought and won by Manila, which ruled in July that China’s building of numerous artificial islands was illegal and its claims to most of the South China Sea had no legal basis. “The landmark arbitration ruling in July, which is binding, helped to clarify maritime rights in the region”.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is also in Laos this week, with ASEAN hosting a series of regional meetings, and gathered with Obama later Thursday at an 18-nation East Asia summit. China and Southeast Asian nations have been discussing the hotline since 2015. He did not elaborate, but such wording is typically used by Chinese leaders to refer to not allowing countries from outside the region with no direct involvement in the dispute, such as the U.S., to get involved.
United States President Barack Obama warned Beijing yesterday that it could not ignore an global tribunal’s “binding” ruling rejecting its sweeping claims to the South China Sea, prompting a rebuke from China. That has pitted it against the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei, all members of ASEAN, which have overlapping claims.
ASEAN works by consensus, and China has successfully pressured Cambodia and Laos in recent years to ensure the bloc does not gang together to heavily pressure Beijing.
Leaders from Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea and the United States also attended the summit.
China, the strongest power in the region has continued to re-claim land on several disputed reefs through dredging, and building airfields and port facilities – while objecting to what it calls “interference” from countries outside.
Obama’s emphasis on the ruling being legally “binding” attracted an immediate reaction from China, which has argued the United States has no role to play in the dispute.
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, left, glances at Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, right, at the start of 11th East Asia Summit on the last day of the 28th and 29th ASEAN Summits and other related summits at the National Convention Center Thursday, Sept. 8, 2016 in Vientiane, Laos.
“I don’t think that differences in perspectives on the South China Sea can easily be overcome, because they are fundamental to the strategic situations that the countries are in, and therefore the way they see the world: what are the threats, what are the opportunities, who are the allies, who are the neutrals, who are the potential adversaries”, he said.
Although the Scarborough Shoal is merely a few rocks poking above the sea, it is important to the Philippines because of the fish stocks in the area. China has rejected the ruling.
China’s embassy in Manila said there has been no dredging or building at the shoal and China has maintained a coastguard presence there for law enforcement patrols.
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ASEAN leaders released a statement on Wednesday saying they were “seriously concerned” over recent developments in the sea.
