China’s maritime administration said it is closing off a part of the sea for military exercises.
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The government announced the drills during a three-day visit to China by U.S. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson, to discuss the territorial dispute and ways to improve interactions between both militaries. In an interview with Senior Justice Antonio T. Carpio, aired on national television, he said the arbitral ruling confirmed that we indeed own as our exclusive economic zone that maritime space in the South China Sea with an area of about 381,000 square kilometers plus a continental shelf of about 150,000 square kilometers.
The survey, which polled 1,200 adults nationwide and has a margin of error of ±3 percentage points, was conducted about two weeks before the Arbitral Tribunal in The Hague ruled on July 12 in favor of the Philippines against China. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam have rival claims.
“This is like the territorial disputes between China and India”, he said, speaking at a Tsinghua University forum in Beijing.
President Barack Obama’s nominee for the next USA ambassador to the Philippines, Sung Kim, said the United States would support China-Philippines negotiations that were free from “coercion and undue pressure”.
After the PCA ruling, China landed to civilian planes on new airstrips in Mischief and Subi reefs, which the tribunal said belong to the Philippines, and its coast guard blocked Philippine fishing boats from coming near a dispute shoal.
The United States, Japan, Australia and the European Union, among others, have pressed China to honor the ruling. This comes after the tribunal awarded the islands to the Philippines.
China’s island development has inflamed regional tensions, with many fearing that Beijing will use the construction of new islands complete with airfields and military facilities to extend its military reach and perhaps try to restrict navigation.
Beijing was more successful in preventing any such statement being issued by the Association of Southeast Nations.
Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Yasuhisa Kawamura said Abe “reiterated the fundamental positions regarding the South China Sea” in his meeting with Li.
In addition to its naval drill announcement, Chinese officials also said that it won’t stop construction on the islands or reefs in the South China Sea, Russia Today reported… The South China Sea is a vital trade juncture for the world economy.
“When has freedom of navigation in the South China Sea ever been affected?”
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He further stated that: “Claimant countries might consider entering into arrangements such as joint exploration and utilisation of resources in disputed areas that do not prejudice the parties’ claims and delimitation of boundaries in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea”.
