China Has ‘Right’ to South China Sea Islands: Senior Diplomat

They were meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) summit in Manila. Though no one yet knows China’s intent, its construction of airstrips, barracks and ports on the man-made islands provides more than ample reason to have real concerns.

Australian, Singaporean and Malaysian Navy ships during Exercise Bersama Shield in the South China Sea this year.

US President Barack Obama and other Asia-Pacific leaders arrived in the Philippines Tuesday for a summit meant to foster trade unity but with terrorism and territorial rows likely to dominate.

In 2013, the Philippines took China to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Netherlands seeking a ruling on its right to exploit the South China Sea waters in its 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone as allowed under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

According to the report of the National Assembly Committee for People’s Aspiration, voters in many provinces are upset about China’s violations in the East Sea (internationally known as the South China Sea), particularly this country’s illegal construction of artificial islands in Vietnam’s Truong Sa (Spratly) and Hoang Sa (Paracels), blatant fishing in waters of Vietnam, and attack of Vietnamese fishing boats.

The United States had lobbied for inclusion of a reference to the waterway, while China had argued it had no place in the issue.

As for the South China Sea, they discussed about the “maritime security, including on the maritime disputes in the region and how worldwide law should remain the framework for behavior of all countries and for the peaceful resolution of disputes”.

President Obama on Tuesday issued a direct challenge to Beijing’s claims to the South China Sea by visiting a warship of the Philippine navy in Manila and announcing that the US military will deliver two ships to its ally to bolster maritime security in the region.

Denny Roy is a senior fellow at the East West Center in Hawaii.

The meeting was requested by China.

“In the future, China will build facilities for maritime research, aids to navigation, fishing management and even an observation station for UNESCO on the reefs”, Liu said. China reacted angrily to the flights.

China – which claims most of the South China Sea – has repeatedly stated that its dredging work is legal.

The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Fitzgerald was also present in Manila Bay to support Mr. Obama’s visit.

“China is pursuing a broad and robust array of counterspace capabilities, which includes direct-ascent anti-satellite missiles”, like the SC-19 and newer DN-2, “co-orbital anti-satellite systems, computer network operations, ground-based satellite jammers, and directed energy weapons”, it said.

VOA Correspondent Steve Herman reported this story from Bangkok. George Grow was the editor. We’ll sail when and where we want, and others must feel free to do the same.