Military Facilities Aren’t Militarization in the South China Sea: Chinese

The Philippines has been the most vocal opponent of China’s South China Sea claims, continually raising the issue at worldwide forums.

Two-thirds of Australian trade passes through the South China Sea and Bishop said freedom of navigation in the area was imperative.

Beijing claims control over most of the South China Sea, which includes most of the sea routes supplying China with energy resources, along with a number of island rich in natural resources.

Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang on Sunday put forward a five-point proposal to ease rising tensions in the South China Sea, even as Beijing admitted to building military facilities in the area.

Earlier this month, US B-52 bombers flew near a few of the islands, signalling Washington’s determination to challenge Beijing’s claim.

Asean on Saturday issued a joint statement stressing the need to maintain freedom of navigation and over-flight rights in the South China Sea.

In Kuala Lumpur, Liu reiterated China’s long-standing position that the goal of these islands is to “provide public service” in the region.

Obama, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and nearly all other leaders raised concerns over the situation in the Asian sea, a key shipping route thought to hold significant oil and gas deposits, and said the time has come to lower tensions heightened by China’s land reclamation activities, according to the officials.

The move angered China, which stepped up its land reclamation and artificial island building in the South China Sea, rattling the Philippines and other claimants to territory in the strategic waterway: Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan.

China said yesterday it is offering US$10 billion (RM42.92 billion) in infrastructure loans to Southeast Asian countries along with aid to the region’s underdeveloped states, as it seeks to expand its influence in the developing world.

Li also said China will buy more Malaysian treasury bonds to help stabilise its financial markets.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who attended the summit, also called for a united fight against terrorism.

The United Nations was gathering ideas and experience from member states. “Early next year, the U.N.is going to present a comprehensive plan of action to defeat violence and extremism”.

Najib said he had meant to open the summit to talk about an economic community that ASEAN is launching this weekend in a region of 622 million people with a combined economic output of $2.5 trillion.

U.S. President Barack Obama, center, participates in the U.S.-ASEAN Summit family photo at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center, on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit, November 21, 2015.