Officials say Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte also plans to ask China’s premier at a meeting between Asean and other regional leaders whether China is trying to develop another disputed reef, Scarborough Shoal, off his country’s northwestern coast.
Advertisement
VIENTIANE, Laos (AP) – A summit of Southeast Asian countries issued a mild rebuke of China on Wednesday over its expansionist activities in the disputed South China Sea, and indirectly urged it to show restraint and not raise tensions.
“We believe that this is a precursor to possible building of structures on the shoal”, spokesman Arsenio Andolong said, adding that China’s denial was “even more disturbing”.
China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Wednesday reaffirmed their respect of freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea under principles of worldwide law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, left, shakes hands with Philippine’s President Rodrigo Duterte, right, as Laos’ Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith, watches during the 19th ASEAN-China summit, in Vientiane, Laos, Wednesday, Se.
Duterte has said he intends to ask Beijing – possibly at a regional summit in Laos this week – if they are reclaiming the shoal despite an worldwide court ruling rejecting most of China’s claims in the resource-rich area.
But a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman said that “China has…not taken new actions” and that “some people are hyping the situation by spreading that kind of information”.
The statement did not mention a ruling by an Arbitral Tribunal at The Hague in July that dismissed China’s historical claims to almost all of the South China Sea.
The increased presence of Chinese ships near the shoal comes nearly two months after an worldwide tribunal ruled against China’s claim over the disputed territory in a case brought by the Philippines, which also claims sovereignty over the shoal.
After China seized Scarborough following a tense 2012 maritime standoff, the Philippines took its territorial dispute with China to worldwide arbitration, a move that was condemned by Beijing, which prefers one-on-one negotiations to prevent the United States and its allies from meddling.
Abe welcomed the Philippines’ readiness to hold talks on its row with China.
“It’s very hard to walk this fine line between balancing the alliance with the United States and the economic engagement with China”, Hanson told Australia’s Radio National.
Ties between Asean and China have been dogged by the South China Sea territorial dispute in recent years.
Besides the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan oppose China’s claims and have counter-claims. Any talks with China would be “within the framework of the positive ruling that favored the Philippines”.
This is a weekly look at the latest key developments in the South China Sea, home to several territorial conflicts that have raised tensions in the region.
ASEAN leaders at their earlier summit on Tuesday expressed concern over China’s island-building.
Advertisement
“China was vigorously asking to begin with the Code of Conduct as well as Singapore, and our president of the Philippines – President Duterte – also expressed his approval of having this framework of Code of Conduct initiated”, Filipino presidential communications secretary Martin Andanar said during a press briefing on Wednesday.
