Obama calls on China to end South China Sea reclamation

In a statement, Marcos said: “We welcome President Obama’s demand as another strong stance against China’s aggressive actions in the West Philippine Sea”.

Mischief Reef was seized by China from the Philippines in 1995 and is claimed by both countries.

Beijing has overlapping claims with Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei in the South China Sea, through which $5 trillion in shipborne trade passes every year. Those islands were recovered by China after Japan was defeated.

However, such an excuse will not disguise the fact that it is the United States that blatantly abuses the freedom of navigation rights, defying and violating worldwide law and undermining regional peace and stability, as it threatens China’s sovereignty and security interests.

Abe also expressed support for a US-initiated move to claim so-called freedom of navigation in the South China Sea by sending warships into waters near China’s islands starting in October, which has escalated tensions in the region.

The two leaders reached the agreement with a view to boosting bilateral cooperation in dealing with the tensions in the South China Sea, where China is increasing its maritime activities, sources with access to the meeting said.

Mischief Reef is one of three islands in the Spratlys where China is said to be building runways that are expected to be used by the Chinese military that is seeking “de facto control” over the sea, according to the U.S. Pacific Command’s Adm. Harry Harris.

China reacted angrily to Obama’s efforts to bolster USA allies in the dispute, as it insisted its construction work in the contested areas is “lawful, justified and reasonable”. Although the country’s pallid military has struggled to push back effectively against China, the Philippine constitution bars permanent USA bases.

“Concerning the South China Sea, Prime Minister Abe told Obama he supports the freedom of navigation patrols in the South China Sea”.

Xi Jinping and Barack Obama [Photo by Pool/Getty Images]An Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (E.D.C.A.) between the Philippines and its USA treaty partner (the Philippine constitution disallows war as an instrument of national policy) is mired in a legal challenge by parties politicking for the next elections.

The Philippine government’s eagerness for more muscular USA military assistance here illustrates how concerns about China appear to have superseded the nation’s resentment of its former colonial master and its reluctance to give US troops free reign. The slowdown has affected a host of countries like South Korea and Australia with considerable exports to China.

Obama reportedly said that the U.S. Navy’s patrol operations near the artificial islands now being built by China in the South China Sea would continue on a routine basis.