In response to a question on the issue of militarization on the South China Sea, spokesman Hong Lei said it is “groundless to link China’s construction on its own islands and reefs in the South China Sea to militarization”.
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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Business and Investment Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Saturday, November 21, 2015. The construction would also include military facilities to protect the atoll and nearby reefs, he said.
“China has engaged in a reclamation program that”s dumped millions of tons of sand and coral onto islands and reefs where it claims sovereignty.
Abe said Japan noted Xi saying in September when he met with Obama in Washington that China has no intention of militarizing features that it has been building in a vast area ocean since about two years ago, according to Seko.
Asia-Pacific leaders gathered Sunday for an annual summit, where they were expected to condemn terrorism but remain apart over growing tensions in the disputed South China Sea.
The U.S. Navy will likely carry out another patrol within 12 nautical miles of artificial islands in the South China Sea before the end of the year, a U.S. Navy official said on Friday.
Earlier this month, US B-52 bombers flew near a few of the islands, signalling Washington’s determination to challenge Beijing’s claim.
Regional tensions have escalated over the matter of the islands, located in waters also claimed by several smaller southeast Asian nations, including the Philippines and Vietnam.
“Many countries have expressed serious concerns that these actions threaten freedom of navigation and unimpeded lawful commerce in one of the world’s most strategic waterways”, Mr. Aquino said.
Liu’s comments reflect an effort by China to cast its South China Sea activities in a non-confrontational light.
Asean also called for quicker progress on agreeing a code of conduct at sea with Beijing.
“We adopted the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on the 10th Anniversary of the EAS which focuses on strengthening the EAS as a leaders-led forum”, he told a press conference in concluding the 27th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits here on Sunday. He was due to hold talks with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Monday. Of the features, 42 have been illegally occupied by three of China’s neighbors. China has mostly built civilian facilities, he said, adding that China rejects the notion it is militarising the South China Sea. One of them, he said, controls 29, another one eight and the third country five.
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And last week Japan broadly agreed to transfer defense equipment and technology to the Philippines, which has been the most vocal opponent of Beijing’s territorial claims in the South China Sea, even taking up a case with an worldwide tribunal in the Netherlands.
