The USA has called for a halt to China’s artificial island building, and in recent weeks has tried to signal its determination to challenge Beijing over the disputed sea by sending military ships and planes near the islands.
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In Manila this week, Obama said the USA was giving the Philippines two more ships to protect its borders, then called on China to stop reclamation and construction.
“We discussed the impact of China’s reclamation and construction activities on regional stability”.
Manila wants mention of the “Arbitral Tribunal’s Award on Jurisdiction and Admissibility on the Philippines’ Arbitration Case Versus China” included in the closing statements of the ASEAN and East Asia summits, according to documents seen by the Nikkei Asian Review.
For his part. Aquino said on Wednesday that he agreed with Obama that laws on the freedom of navigation at sea should be upheld.
Obama also reiterated his commitment to defend the Philippines’ rights amid the maritime dispute in the region.
Several main roads were closed around Kuala Lumpur and security was tightened ahead of the arrival of Obama and other leaders, including Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, South Korean President Park Geun Hye and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.
South China Sea disputes and the Paris attacks have overshadowed the trade- and business-focused agenda of the annual APEC summit. The point the U.S.is trying to make is not to contain China, a Washington think tank expert stressed, but to reinforce the status quo guaranteeing security for the Pacific, especially with host Philippines in a fragile state.
Through land reclamation, China has created artificial islands from various reefs.
Xi Jinping and Barack Obama [Photo by Pool/Getty Images]An Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (E.D.C.A.) between the Philippines and its USA treaty partner (the Philippine constitution disallows war as an instrument of national policy) is mired in a legal challenge by parties politicking for the next elections. The slowdown has affected a host of countries like South Korea and Australia with considerable exports to China.
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China’s top admiral said his forces have shown “enormous restraint” in the face of US provocations in the South China Sea, while warning they stand ready to respond to repeated breaches of Chinese sovereignty.
