Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday in Beijing, discussing topics including the South China Sea and the nuclear issue in North Korea.
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On July 12, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague is due to rule in a case filed against China by the Philippines – among the US allies that have been expressing alarm over China’s maritime expansion in the Sea, which they suspect is aimed at extending its military reach.
During the said call, Reuters reports that China hopes the US will honor its promise that it will not take sides when it comes to the South China Sea dispute.
U.S. destroyers had sailed close to Chinese-held reefs and islands in the disputed South China Sea in recent weeks, USA naval officials said on Thursday.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague is set to release its final decision Tuesday on the case, which was brought by the Philippines challenging China’s position.
His comments echoed a China Daily editorial Friday, which called the court case a “farce” and the tribunal’s forthcoming ruling “illegal, null and void from the outset”.
Wang said that regardless of the tribunal’s ruling, China would “firmly safeguard its own territorial sovereignty and legitimate maritime rights and firmly safeguard the peace and stability”, it said.
The Philippines and China have an ongoing dispute over parts of the South China Sea along with other claimants like Vietnam, Brunei and Malaysia.
“As secretary-general, I can not comment on the arbitration case in which the ruling may be issued shortly”, Ban said at a joint news conference with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi here yesterday.
She also vowed that China would counter any actions threatening its sovereignty and security in the region.
The United States has meanwhile boosted its military presence in the region, dealing with neighboring countries’ concerns about China’s actions.
A highly-disputed region through which almost $5 trillion in global trade passes annually, most of the South China Sea is claimed by China, though there are overlapping claims by the Philippines, Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
China’s declaration of a “no sail” zone in the South China Sea is technically a violation of maritime law, but not a new move from Beijing, maritime experts and US officials told USNI News on Thursday.
“The arbitration over the South China Sea demanded by former Philippine president Benigno S. Aquino III will not lead to a peaceful solution”.
On Tuesday, Beijing sought to downplay fears of conflict in the South China Sea after an influential state-run newspaper said Beijing should prepare for military confrontation.
Were this to happen, they would have a “triangulated series of bases” from which they could dominate the South China Sea.
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“If we get the verdict we expect, it is imperative to cull the best thinking on different post-arbitration scenarios and initiate dialogue on strategically approaching geopolitical, economic, and social changes in the region.” said Dindo Manhit, President of the Stratbase Albert del Rosario Institute.
