Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Hua Chunying said China has long been building and maintaining lighthouses and other navigational aid facilities on Nansha and Xisha islands, China's inherent territory, in line with international regulations.
"They are necessary measures to guarantee navigational safety in the area" and are "irreproachable," Hua said in response to questions about the preparation for lighthouse construction on five atolls in the South China Sea.
Sources:Xinhua - globaltimes.cn
9/8/14
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Related:
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Chinese FM confirms drilling off Xisha completed. (The spokesman also noted the Xisha Islands are inherent territory of China)
Philippines, US to Hold Naval Drills Near Disputed Shoal
Manila seeks early tribunal ruling over sea dispute with China
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China foreign ministry defends lighthouse on disputed islands...
ReplyDelete(Reuters) - China's foreign ministry has defended the government's decision to build lighthouses on disputed islands in the South China Sea, saying they were being built to facilitate navigation.
State media reported on Thursday that China was planning to build lighthouses on five islands in the South China Sea, known in English as North Reef, Antelope Reef, Drummond Island, South Sand and Pyramid Rock, including two that appear to be in waters also claimed by Vietnam.
Spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a statement posted on the foreign ministry website late on Friday that the lighthouses were "necessary measures to guarantee the safety of vessel traffic" and was both in the public interest and compliant with international law.
The U.S. and the Philippines have called for a voluntary freeze on any status-quo changing moves by disputants in the area, but China has rejected the proposal.
Washington is also attempting to use this weekend's ASEAN regional forum in Myanmar to lobby Southeast Asian foreign ministers to pressure China to come to the negotiating table..................http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/09/us-china-southchinasea-idUSKBN0G904320140809?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews
8/8/14
U.S. call for South China Sea 'freeze' gets cool response from China...
ReplyDelete(Reuters) - A U.S. proposal for a freeze on provocative acts in the South China Sea got a cool response from China and some Southeast Asian nations on Saturday, an apparent setback to Washington's efforts to rein in China's assertive actions.
To China's annoyance, the United States is using a regional meeting in Myanmar this weekend to step up its engagement in the maritime tension by calling for a moratorium on actions such as China's planting of a giant oil rig in Vietnamese waters in May.
Its ally the Philippines has also called for a freeze as part of a three-step plan to ease tension in the resource-rich sea, through which passes $5 trillion of trade a year.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Myanmar's capital, Naypyidaw, on Saturday for the ASEAN Regional Forum, joining foreign ministers and other top diplomats from China, Russia, Japan, India, Australia, the European Union and Southeast Asia among others.
"The United States and ASEAN have a common responsibility to ensure the maritime security of critical sea, lands and ports," Kerry said in opening comments.
"We need to work together to manage tensions in the South China Sea and to manage them peacefully, and also to manage them on the basis of international law.”
But Le Luong Minh, secretary-general of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said the U.S. proposal was not discussed by ASEAN ministers because there was already a mechanism in place to curtail sensitive action such as land reclamation and building on disputed islands.........................http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/09/us-asean-southchinasea-idUSKBN0G904O20140809?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews