China claims most of the South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion in global trade passes every year.
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Ash Carter, U.S. Secretary of Defense, on Thursday, flew to a USA aircraft carrier transiting the disputed South China Sea and blamed China for rising tension in the region.
Japan is in constant contact with the United States regarding the latter’s engagement in the South China Sea.
On the Syria issue, Wang said China holds positive views over the nine-point agreement reached lately in Vienna, adding that under the current circumstances, to accelerate the political settlement process of the Syria issue has been of urgency. While Malaysia is one of the countries that have territorial claims in the South China Sea, it has been reluctant to get involved in the dispute, unlike Vietnam and the Philippines.
China asked India to play a “constructive and positive” role in safeguarding peace and stability in the disputed South China Sea, in a guarded reaction to Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar’s call for ensuring freedom of navigation in the strategic waters amid escalated Sino-US tensions.
China, as a major country, is conducting construction activities on a few South China Sea islands at a pace and with a scale befitting its worldwide responsibilities and obligations in such fields as maritime search and rescue, disaster prevention and mitigation, navigation safety and fishery services in the South China Sea. “In this aspect, we hope the relevant actions and intentions of the USA can be made open and above board”. As a result, State Department spokesman John Kirby emphasized in his press briefing that the “U.S.-China relationship is vitally important and one we want to see continue growing”, without making any mention of the operation.
“Teddy Roosevelt’s presence there and our visit is a symbol of our commitment to our rebalance (to Asia) and the importance of the Asia-Pacific to the United States”, Carter said on Wednesday.
On October 27, the USS Lassen cruised within about six miles (10 kilometres) of Subi Reef in the Spratly Islands, a sprinkling of reefs and islets at the heart of the South China Sea that also is claimed in whole or part by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Taiwan. In May, Beijing called a U.S. P-8 surveillance flight carrying a CNN team over the South China Sea “irresponsible and dangerous”. The administration must make crystal clear that Secretary Carter’s visit to the USS Theodore Roosevelt is a direct result of this breakdown at the meeting.
U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said Washington believed that the US commitment to freedom of navigation was welcomed by ASEAN.
The United States says it takes no position on the South China Sea claims.
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The Chinese sailors, talking in English, responded by speaking about the place they have been from, their households and locations they’ve visited, Francis stated. “If you dig into this carefully enough, you will find, I think, extreme caution in how the U.S.is going about the freedom of navigation assertions”. More than 700 miles separate the archipelago from China, but China has been busy pouring sand on top of reefs – building over 2,000 acres of new land over the past year. “What is your intent?'”, it inquired, as recounted to reporters on Friday by Leader commanding officer of the Lassen, Robert Francis.
