Beijing has displayed irritation with Washington’s expressions of support for the claims of China’s neighbours, and once again refused to budge on the issue in Kuala Lumpur. The “nine-dash line” clearly disregards the sovereignty of smaller nations in favor of China’s own geopolitical interests.
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President Obama made the comments before the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders’ summit in Manila. Tokyo is already providing patrol vessels to the Philippines and Vietnam.
Liu, in a news conference on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Malaysia, denied that China was militarizing the South China Sea, saying Beijing mostly built civilian structures.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the Self-Defense Forces will not join US freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea, just days after telling President Barack Obama he would consider the move. So far, China has been very obstinate about discussing its territorial claims.
He said it would raise labor and environmental standards, encourage rule of law and create stronger and more accountable governance for all countries involved but added that it would also bring economic benefits to the United States. Li told the gathering that countries “from outside the region” should stop inflaming tensions over maritime disputes.
In October, the USS Lassen, a guided-missile destroyer, sailed around one of them.
China has been placed under mounting pressure not only by the U.S., but Washington’s allies, including the Philippines, Japan and Australia.
The leaders of the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations members met with top officials from eight other countries, including China, the USA, and Russian Federation.
Japan backed the United States to the hilt. Earlier at the summit, China came under renew-ed criticism on Sunday over its rising profile in the South China Sea as it jostled with the United States for regional influence.
China broke its silence and defended its expansion in the South China Sea on Sunday, as President Obama headed home after a six-day Asian trip that he used repeatedly to criticize China’s military expansion in the region.
Li says the two countries have enjoyed wide cooperation in cultural and educational exchanges.
But defence minister Gen Nakatani played down the suggestion after bilateral meetings with Australian counterpart Marise Payne and foreign minister Julie Bishop in Sydney. But Beijing has rapidly reclaimed land and expanded the islets to build airports, runways and other constructions.
ASEAN nations agreed to work toward a code of conduct in the region that would include the implementation of global principles, including freedom of navigation, overflight and the peaceful resolution of disputes in the South China Sea.
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“Our alliances are the foundation for our security which becomes the foundation for our prosperity, which allows us to invest in the source of our strength, including our alliances”, he told the ASEAN business executives. China has been constructing artificial islands in the region to bolster its claims, but the country maintained that such efforts were only to serve the public better.
