“A couple of extra-regional countries still wanted to use the occasion of the East Asia Summit to talk about the South China Sea, particularly to press on the regional countries to abide by the arbitration, which is untimely and inappropriate”, he said, adding that it was also “against the trend in the region to resolve the disputes by cooperation and dialogue”.
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Abe was speaking at the regional summit in Laos hosted by ASEAN. Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei are some of the countries that have disputed Bejing’s claims over the sea.
China has built a military base on the Spratly Islands that are subject to competing claims from several nations and the Philippines is concerned China is planning to build on the Scarborough Shoal, not far from the Philippine coast.
But the Philippines released images which it said showed Chinese ships in the area that were capable of dredging sand and other activities required to build an artificial island.
The officials said the talks between Li and the Southeast Asian leaders went quite smoothly, although they said that there was no reference to the July tribunal ruling in The Hague that invalidated China’s vast territorial claims on nearly the entire waterway of South China Sea.
Beijing has conducted massive reclamation and construction works in the South China Sea, sparking fears of militarisation in the region.
When asked why there was no mention of the tribunal ruling in the joint statements, the Prime Minister said the ruling couldn’t be enforced because “there is no provision to enforce unless both parties go to arbitration and they agree on the terms of arbitration”.
The ruling also said that a massive burst of artificial island-building activity undertaken by China in recent years in a bid to bolster its claims was illegal.
The issue of ownership of territories in the South China Sea has come to dominate ASEAN summits in recent years.
The competing territorial claims have always been a major source of tension in the region, with China using deadly force twice to seize control of islands from Vietnam.
The other ASEAN nations are Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore and Thailand.
Abe also noted that the South China Sea was a “vitally important sea lane for Japan”.
On Wednesday, the Philippines released what it says are surveillance pictures of Chinese coast guard ships and barges at the disputed Scarborough Shoal, an apparent attempt to publicize its concerns before ASEAN leaders met with Chinese Premier Li Kequiang in Vientiane.
Beijing seized the Scarborough Shoal in 2012 after a standoff with the Philippine Navy, and has blocked Filipino fishing vessels from the area.
“China values President Putin’s position on the South China Sea issue”, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said today.
Li heads the State Council of China, which is “the highest organ of state power” and “highest organ of state administration there”.
Former Philippine President Fidel Ramos is meeting with members of the Chinese government to discuss the situation, and James said the US will remain engaged in resolving the disagreements in the region. However, China has said that it does not recognize the ruling. “We should be highly alert against the mischief-making intentions of people who spread such groundless information in such situations”.
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Beijing accuses the States of “militarizing the region”.
