China committed to uphold peace, stability in S. China Sea

Tensions came to the fore at the ongoing East Asia and Asean Foreign Ministers Meeting in Malaysia, with countries including USA, India, Japan and Australia expressing deep concern over China’s territorial claim and creation of artificial islands in the South China Sea (SCS) region.

The ASEAN Regional Forum held in the Malaysian capital on Thursday saw the South China Sea as a hot-button issue given Beijing’s fast-paced and massive reclamation work there, which fueled concerns that the facilities being built such as an airstrip could be for military purposes.

For his part, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario had asked China to stop its reclamation and construction of projects in contested waters.

China has hit out at Japan and the Philippines for teaming up during a regional forum to attack Beijing over its policy in the disputed South China Sea.

David Arase, a Johns Hopkins University professor well-versed in worldwide politics, said the U.S. position in protecting “freedom of navigation” in the South China Sea lies in defending the interests of the United States and its defense cooperation partners, and upholding the global rule of law.

Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam- all Asean members – also have various claims, as does Taiwan, many of which overlap.

But the nations have been at loggerheads for the last three days over the wording of the paragraphs addressing the South China Sea.

Diplomatic sources told Agence France-Presse that the Philippines and Vietnam – which have been in the most direct confrontation with China – had called for strong language.

The other nations say they have yet to verify China’s claim that it has stopped reclamation. Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar traditionally side with China within ASEAN.

China’s 9-dash-line claims nearly the entire SCS and Beijing continues to maintain that UNCLOS doesn’t have the mandate to deal with territorial issues.

“I don’t have statistics, but the number of exercises we conduct on our eastern frontiers together with China or other countries is a very tiny percentage of the number of exercises our American neighbours conduct together with Japan, with South Korea and others in this area”.

The United States and south-east Asian realms have required a halt to further island-expansion and development by China.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke out against what he believed to be untruthful statements made by his counterparts from Tokyo and Manila during the East Asia Summit (EAS) on Thursday.