Dozens of Vietnamese who gathered for an anti-China protest in central Hanoi were taken away by authorities yesterday as they tried to rally support for an global tribunal’s ruling rejecting Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea.
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Li said Saturday before he returned to China that the South China Sea arbitration award will have no impact on China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime interests. The ruling also clarifies the use by other states of the waters of the sea.
Describing the current security situation in waters around China as “complicated and sensitive” and noting the escalating South China Sea issue, Wu said Richardson’s visit will be beneficial for the two countries to strengthen communication, promote trust, resolve doubts and avoid misjudgments.
Nansha is China’s name for the Spratly Islands.
The air force also said on Monday it had recently deployed a long-range bomber to conduct “combat overflight” over the Scarborough Shoal.
James Schoff, an Asia expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, called the recent flight of the nuclear-capable aircraft an “emphatic demonstration” of China’s defiance that was created to sap the Philippines of confidence that its US ally will uphold its defense treaty obligations. Richardson is likely to discuss the South China Sea verdict with Chinese officials during his visit. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam have rival claims.
China’s maritime administration said it is closing off a part of the sea for military exercises. But China now finds itself in a much bigger court, the court of world opinion, saying, “If China wants to be seen and be respected as a regional, as a rising power, even a superpower, it has to be seen as someone that is adhering to worldwide practice, global law, and that it’s there to respect other countries rights and other countries sovereignty”.
China kicks off its second military drill in two weeks in the South China Sea today even as Chinese military leaders warn the United States that its freedom of navigation patrols could backfire and end in “disaster”.
China has repeatedly blamed the United States for stirring up trouble in the South China Sea, a strategic waterway through which more than $US5 trillion ($6.6 trillion) of trade moves annually.
“After the storm of this arbitration has passed, and the sky has cleared, we hope this day (of negotiations) will come quickly”, said Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin, adding that China believed cooperation would also bring Filipinos “tangible benefits”.
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China’s Foreign Ministry on Friday said Beijing’s position on the case had the support of Laos, the current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a regional bloc long dogged by discord over how to deal with China’s maritime assertiveness.
