On November 3, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter met with representatives of several Asia-Pacific nations on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defense Minister’s Meeting in Kuala Lumpur. Still, Indonesia’s Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu said communication is important and the US must abide by laws of the sea when carrying out patrols.
Advertisement
China is dedicated to bilateral negotiations for the resolution of relevant disputes, and with the ASEAN countries is jointly championing the peace and stability of the South China, Yi said.
The pair also talked about Washington’s concerns over alleged Chinese cyber-attacks.
“Despite repeated recent statements and multiple requests by the Chinese side, USA sent its military ship USS Lassen to the reefs near China’s Nansha Islands thus creating a threat to China’s sovereignty and security, as well as to security of people and infrastructure on the reefs”. Mr. Hishammuddin said Malaysia supported them so long as China and the USA work together to ensure there is no risk of further escalation.
But Harris, speaking earlier at a Beijing university, said USA freedom of navigation operations should not be viewed as a threat. Philippine Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin declined to say if a few members of Asean face pressure to back China on the South China Sea issue.
The Pentagon chief was in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday for meetings with regional partners as part of America’s ongoing strategic “rebalance” toward the Asia-Pacific.
Taiwan and the Philippines claim large parts of the Spratly Islands, while Malaysia and Brunei believe they own a few of the islands in the south. Others, including former Labor Foreign Minister Gareth Evans and senior government defence strategist Paul Dibbs, have also advocated dispatching warships or military aircraft to challenge Chinese claims in the South China Sea.
According to military officials who have spoken with Reuters on condition of anonymity, the U.S. Navy’s patrol of South China Sea will be done as frequent as two times every quarter in order for China to be reminded that us has freedom of navigation under worldwide law.
For almost two years, China has been engaged in a massive and provocative effort to turn seven specks of land in the Spratlys into outposts it could use to fortify and defend its outrageous and legally indefensible territorial claims in the South China Sea.
Admiral Harris made a few conciliatory remarks, praising US-China ties and pointing out that Chinese and United States ships were visiting ports in each other’s countries.
The USA and China’s naval commanders spoke by video link last week.
USA officials said the call between Adm. John Richardson and Adm. Wu Shengli, who commands the Chinese navy, was “professional and productive”.
China’s position on the islands is leading many countries in the region “to want to intensify their security cooperation with the United States”, Carter said on Sunday.
Advertisement
Following the incident, China summoned Mac Bauchus, the US Ambassador to China, to express “strong discontent” over the freedom of navigation patrol.
