Huang Jing, a US-China relations expert at the National University of Singapore, said Sun gave a fairly comprehensive speech and Carter departed from his usual hawkish stand to talk about cooperation. “It has always been here, and it’s here for the foreseeable future and will continue to be a global power”, said Singaporean Defense Minister Dr Ng Eng Hen last week.
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“There is growing anxiety in this region, and in this room, about China’s activities on the seas, in cyberspace, and in the region’s airspace”, Carter said on Saturday in a speech to the Shangri-La security dialogue.
“As a result, China’s actions in the South China Sea are isolating it, at a time when the entire region is coming together and networking. We also believe the related countries have the wisdom and patience to make peace”, Sun said.
“As a serviceman I am more than clear what it means”, Admiral Sun said.
Earlier Saturday, India’s defence minister told the conference, known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, that it was in China’s economic interest to reduce tensions in the South China Sea.
He said the USA did not take sides on competing claims and no country should move unilaterally to militarise the resource-rich region.
Sun said that the issue had “become overheated because of provocations of certain countries for their own selfish interests”.
“The two leaders exchanged views on the regional security environment, and discussed the importance of a principled, networked, security architecture to maintain peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific”, Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said in a statement on the fifth meeting between the two within a year.
Carter said the US and Laos would co-host an informal defense ministers’ meeting in Hawaii in September.
In an attempt to counter some concerns in Asia about United States staying power, Carter told a regional security forum in Singapore that the U.S. approach to the Asia-Pacific remained “one of commitment, strength and inclusion”.
Without military muscle to defend its territory, the Philippines brought a case to the United Nations arbitration court, challenging China’s sweeping claims to the South China Sea and asking that its right to exploit resources within its EEZ be honored.
Britain told the conference it was not taking sides in territorial disputes, but called for a commitment to worldwide law.
But that stance has been called into question by US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, who last month accused Beijing of “pressing excessive maritime claims contrary to global law”.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Sunday the declaration of such a zone would be seen as a “provocative and destabilising act” and urged Beijing not to act unilaterally.
First, China has indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and the adjacent waters, which is fully backed by historical and legal evidence. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop called in the Chinese Ambassador to register her concern and was strongly criticised by Beijing.
A ruling is expected soon that, at least in part, will favor the Philippines, invalidating China’s nine-dash line, which outlines the water and islands Beijing claims.
Despite repeated statements of concern from countries such as Japan, India, Vietnam and South Korea, the Chinese spokesperson rejected the prospect of isolation, saying that numerous Asian countries at the gathering were “warmer” and “friendlier” to China than a year ago.
Mr Carter’s comments come amid much debate in Australia about how to handle the alliance with the US.
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In proposing a “principled security network” across Asia, Carter said it would include “nations building connections for a common cause, planning and training together, and eventually operating in a coordinated way”.
