China is willing to keep close coordination with Laos on worldwide and regional issues, firmly support each other, strengthen close cooperation under multilateral frameworks such as East Asia cooperation and the Lancang-Mekong River Cooperation, so as to bring benefit to people of the two countries and the region, Li said.
Advertisement
“I recognise this raises tensions”, Obama said referring to the ruling “but I also look forward to discussing how we can constructively move forward together to lower tensions and promote diplomacy and stability”.
The ruling by the arbitral tribunal in The Hague effectively invalidated what China calls its historical rights over most of the sea, and further admonished it for conducting vast reclamation work in contested waters to bolster its claims.
( L to R) Myanmar’s State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chano-cha, Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, Laos Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen, Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak pose for photo during ASEAN-China Summit in Vientiane, Laos.
The Yomiuri ShimbunEnsuring freedom of navigation, not allowing attempts to unilaterally alter the status quo and seeking to resolve disputes in line with global law – we want to see such a rule of law established in the South China Sea.
At the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit being held between September 6 and 8, Obama called the results of an worldwide arbitration that denied Beijing’s “historic claims” to the South China Sea, “binding”, and promised more diplomatic and economic cooperation in the region, Voice of America (VOA) reported on September 8.
Countries in Southeast Asia have realized that the key to solving the South China Sea issue should be in their own hands and they should return to seeking complete and effective implementation of the DOC and solving the issue through dialogue and consultation.
Barack Obama has reminded China that an worldwide ruling rejecting Beijing’s territorial claims in the South China Sea is “binding”.
It is concerning that China, with Japan and the United States in mind, has attached a precondition to ASEAN negotiations that there should be no outside interference.
“Countries in the region are the biggest beneficiaries of peace in the South China Sea”.
China shot back with comments aimed at the US.
The worldwide community hopes to see long-term stability in East Asia, a region that is the key engine of global economic growth.
The ASEAN and India leaders agreed to continue enhancing the partnership that would bring about tangible benefits to both sides as well as contribute to the promotion of peace, stability, and prosperity in the region.
Advertisement
China is willing to share experience with Laos in fields such as drawing development blueprints, tourism development and agricultural disaster prevention, Li said.
