Obama says China must stop reclamation works in disputed territory — APEC Watch

“The U.S. Navy is committed to continued engagement to improve mutual understanding, build trust, enhance transparency, and reduce the risk of misperceptions and miscalculations”.

Beijing, which claims nearly the entire energy-rich South China Sea through which $5-trillion in ship-borne trade passes a year, has stepped up a programme of land reclamation and construction in disputed islands and reefs there that has sparked concern in the Asia-Pacific region.

“Japan should remember and reflect upon history”, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a regular news conference in an obvious reference to Japan’s history.

Among the topics up for discussion on the first day of dialogue were combatting terrorism and the territorial disputes on the South China Sea.

The U.S. Navy will likely carry out another patrol within 12 nautical miles of artificial islands in the South China Sea before the end of the year, a U.S. Navy official said on Friday.

The Chinese navy had exercised “maximum restraint” during America’s recent provocations, Admiral Wu told Admiral Scott Swift, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, in a meeting in Beijing, as reported by The Herald.

Such moments tell of the underlying tension between Beijing and Manila, even though the South China Sea was not mentioned in any official document or public speech at the summit on Wednesday and Thursday.

However there are signs this is changing.

In addition to protesting the Lassens naval passage near Subi Reef, where a very large runway is under construction, China denounced the recent passage through the sea by the Roosevelt, claiming it was a violation of Chinese maritime sovereignty because the United States did not request permission for the transit.

He added that clearer rules over rights and responsibilities in the South China Sea are needed, including a long discussed but yet to be finalized code of conduct.

Recently, Indonesia said it could emulate the Philippines and take China to global courts over the issue.

In addition to seagoing units, the Japanese are said to be considering the delivery of either three used P3-C Orion or three TC-90 King Air aircraft for use in patrolling Philippine maritime claims.

“That is in nobody’s interest”, Li said.

US President Barack Obama said countries should stop building artificial islands and militarising their claims in the area.

I also want to express my appreciation for the hard work that Shinzō has been involved with in building up stronger regional understandings – the trilateral meetings that have been taking place between Japan, China, and South Korea I think are especially important. The South China Sea is known as the West Philippine Sea in Manila, while Vietnam refers to the same waters as the East Sea.

Malaysia has deployed extraordinary security measures around Kuala Lumpur as leaders from 18 countries, including U.S. President Barack Obama, arrived for a pair of weekend summits.

In a joint US – ASEAN statement issued after their summit, both sides pressed for the peaceful resolution of territorial disputes “without resorting to the threat or use of force”.

“The US conduct does not contribute to peace and stability in the South China Sea whatsoever”, Wu said, “The USA can not impose its own claims on other nations”.

Park and Abe agreed to “speed up” negotiations to quickly resolve the sex slave issue, a main source of diplomatic tension, during their first summit held in Seoul. China is in a position to install radars and missiles to threaten regional claimants like Vietnam and Philippines.

The president also said the U.S. Navy will continue its “freedom of navigation” operations as a routine program.

“In practice, we have virtually eliminated tariff barriers between us”, said Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, the summit host.