What is seen as China’s push for control of strategic waterways in the South China Sea is expected to be discussed when Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington on September 25.
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Speaking in an interview with ABS-CBN television, Aquino said that China had proposed the joint development of the South China Sea while at the same time claiming nearly all of the strategically sensitive waters.
It was reported that the airfield has a 9,842-foot long military-grade runway similar to two previous runways, which Beijing had built on the disputed islands earlier.
American experts believe that the construction of the airfield will significantly boost China’s military capabilities in the South China Sea.
He also rejected China’s calls for a bilateral dialogue, saying that any talks should involve other countries that claim parts of the area such as Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan. Beijing has announced the islands will be used for military purposes. It must be noted that the third airfield on the Spratly Islands is the most threatening to interests of the Philippines, which has been conducting geological searches of oil and gas in the area of the islands.
A satellite image taken on April 2 this year of what is claimed to be an under-construction airstrip in the disputed South China Sea by Beijing.
However, it’s not China who heats up the tensions in the Asia-Pacific region, according to Sputnik’s analyst Finian Cunningham.
Adm. Harry B. Harris, Jr., US Navy Commander, U.S. Pacific Command walks past a photograph showing an island that China is building on the Fiery Cross Reef in the South China Sea, as the prepares to testify on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, September 17, 2015, before the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on maritime security strategy in the Asia-Pacific region.
In reality, though, the USA military has not sailed its ships or flown its planes quite everywhere. But China’s increasingly aggressive actions in the South China Sea stand out as a frontal challenge to the US pivot to Asia, one of the stated foreign-policy cornerstones of Obama’s time in office. Since China began modernizing its military, about the same time as the US show of force over Taiwan, Beijing has made huge strides in both the quantity and quality of its hardware. Over the centuries, similar “protection” claims have been a convenient excuse for “sundry colonial suzerains” as well as “organized crime syndicates”, according to the analyst. It is also is said to contain large undersea energy reserves while serving as a major global fishing zone. An estimated $5.3 trillion worth of goods transit through the waters each year.
“But short of that, the militarization of these features pose a threat against all other countries in the region”, he said.
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Rep. Randy Forbes (R.-Va.), an outspoken voice on sea power issues in the House, and 28 colleagues sent a letter to Obama and Defense Secretary Ashton Carter last week warning that USA passivity risks legitimizing China’s behavior.
