US Navy ship visits China in wake of recent tensions

While not on the formal agenda of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit on Wednesday and Thursday in Manila, the South China Sea is expected to be discussed on the sidelines.

Beijing claims virtually the entire South China Sea and has sought to reinforce its position by rapidly constructing artificial islands capable of hosting military facilities.

Director of ASEAN Studies Centre, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Gajah Mada University of Indonesia Dr Dafri Agussalim said it was imperative for the declaration to be extended to Japan, Taiwan and the United States (US) in putting the South China Sea dispute to an end.

“My visit here underscores our shared commitment to the security of the waters of this region and of the freedom of navigation”, the president said in front of the flagship.

Obama’s comments at Manila harbour after visiting the Philippines’ main warship came hours after China said it was the real victim of the waterway dispute because other countries had illegally occupied islands there.

He said China has not tried to retake control of islands and reefs that it believes are, in his words, “illegally occupied by neighboring countries”.

US President Barack Obama, who arrived in Manila today, will attend both meetings.

The bombers flew over the islands shortly after a U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer sailed near the Spratly Islands.

“He also appreciates our approach of quiet diplomacy with regards to the South China Sea”, Najib said.

Countries outside Asia could find themselves in similar tight spots as China’s economic clout expanded, said Yan Xuetong, an worldwide relations expert with Tsinghua University in Beijing.

Authorities in Manila, a city of 12 million, closed many roads leading to the sites of the assembly off, causing significant traffic jams.

In a draft of the APEC leaders’ closing statement seen by Reuters, the leaders said they were concluded to counter it collectively and condemned terrorism. Local media said the gridlock was not so good that it wasn’t made by a girl in labor to hospital and gave birth in her automobile.

Philippines officials say there has been no intelligence suggesting there might be an attack on the Manila summit but about 30,000 police and soldiers have been deployed to guard it. The result of these gatherings of top regional leaders means a time for diplomatic focus on areas of concern – and in the Asian context, that means a heavy emphasis on the South China Sea disputes. But the world was becoming increasingly bipolar and China could no longer “lie low”, he said, referring to late leader Deng Xiaoping’s  foreign policy mantra.

“Under the shadow cast by the recent attacks in Paris, we stand in solidarity with the people of France and all victims of terrorism elsewhere”, the statement draft said.

Tensions over the South China Sea are likely to dominate the East Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur later this week.

Individually, Hanoi and Manila signed a strategic partnership deal on Tuesday to agree on their navies will work jointly.