Beijing insists it has sovereign rights to nearly all of the strategically vital waters, where the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have claims.
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“I am seriously concerned with the continuing attempts to change unilaterally the status quo in the East and South China Sea”, Abe said at a regional summit in Laos hosted by the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
In addition to the two large patrol vessels, Haguida also said that both Abe and Duterte agreed during their meeting to strengthen cooperation to ensure a peaceful resolution of the South China Sea dispute.
It also has a simmering territorial row with Tokyo over disputed islands in the East China Sea.
China claims most of the South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion of trade moves annually.
All relevant parties, including China, should follow the July ruling by a court of arbitration, which is binding under worldwide law, Abe said.
There could be more ” pull aside” talks on Thursday with leaders, officials said.
He extended his appreciation for President El-Sisi’s favorable view of Japanese-style education and indicated that Japan hoped to realize prompt provision of foreign student loans based on the Egypt-Japan Education Partnership launched by the two countries.
Distributed by APO on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.
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The importance placed on the TPP by Japan and the USA has been interpreted as an effort to counter the regional influence of China, which is not party to the pact.
