The Philippines' foreign minister on Sunday told his counterparts from the 10-member Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) that China is “poised to take de facto control” of the South China Sea through its reclamation work on disputed reefs there.
Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario told the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting that the group should tell China what it is doing is wrong “and that the massive reclamations should be immediately stopped.”
The Philippines came to this meeting and will attend the immediately succeeding ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting of heads of state in Kuala Lumpur with the express purpose of warning about China’s rapid build-out of artificial islands across seven reefs in the Spratly Islands.
Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario told the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting that the group should tell China what it is doing is wrong “and that the massive reclamations should be immediately stopped.”
The Philippines came to this meeting and will attend the immediately succeeding ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting of heads of state in Kuala Lumpur with the express purpose of warning about China’s rapid build-out of artificial islands across seven reefs in the Spratly Islands.
Anifah Aman, foreign minister of this year’s ASEAN host country Malaysia, said the block would “much appreciate” it if China could stop the work and sit down to discuss the situation.
Want matter to be settled
“The ASEAN member states want to see that this matter is to be settled, to complete amicability because it does affect not just the claimant states but ASEAN as a whole. Because we're in this region and if there's any instability in the region, then even those non-claimant states will be affected," Aman said.
The seven reefs being dredged, which the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan claim, are in various stages of completion. Some have multi-storied structures, others have harbors capable of docking military ships and at least one reef has a nearly completed runway that can accommodate military planes.
China said it has “indisputable sovereignty” over the South China Sea’s islands and waters. ASEAN members the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei, along with Taiwan, all have competing claims in the resource-rich and heavily traveled sea.
Carl Thayer, a security analyst with the Australian Defense Force Academy, said any group expression on the situation will have to get through many layers.
“The foreign ministers could make one statement and the leaders could water it down. And no doubt China is working all over the place behind the scenes to prevent consensus on this. And [Malaysian] Prime Minister Najib [Razak], his DNA is not to confront China," Thayer said.
The disputed waters of the South China Sea are widely seen as a potential flash point. In 2002, ASEAN and China signed a non-binding agreement to manage the disputes peacefully. And work on a legally binding Code of Conduct has been stretched out over the following years.
The Philippines and Vietnam are leading the call for faster work on completing the Code, which the United States and other countries are also pushing for.
Opt-out clause
Manila filed a case with the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague in 2013 questioning China’s far-ranging claims in the sea. Beijing rejects the case, citing an opt-out clause when it signed on to the United Nation Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Malaysia is a major trade partner of China.
Aman called China an important partner of ASEAN and it is reciprocal for ASEAN “so there is no need for any confrontational efforts or confrontational situations whereby it will not bring any benefits to any country.” Simone Orendain
[voanews.com]
26/4/15
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Carl Thayer, a security analyst with the Australian Defense Force Academy, said any group expression on the situation will have to get through many layers.
“The foreign ministers could make one statement and the leaders could water it down. And no doubt China is working all over the place behind the scenes to prevent consensus on this. And [Malaysian] Prime Minister Najib [Razak], his DNA is not to confront China," Thayer said.
The disputed waters of the South China Sea are widely seen as a potential flash point. In 2002, ASEAN and China signed a non-binding agreement to manage the disputes peacefully. And work on a legally binding Code of Conduct has been stretched out over the following years.
The Philippines and Vietnam are leading the call for faster work on completing the Code, which the United States and other countries are also pushing for.
Opt-out clause
Manila filed a case with the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague in 2013 questioning China’s far-ranging claims in the sea. Beijing rejects the case, citing an opt-out clause when it signed on to the United Nation Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Malaysia is a major trade partner of China.
Aman called China an important partner of ASEAN and it is reciprocal for ASEAN “so there is no need for any confrontational efforts or confrontational situations whereby it will not bring any benefits to any country.” Simone Orendain
[voanews.com]
26/4/15
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Healthy ASEAN-China ties important to world ...
ReplyDeleteThe world will benefit from the healthy relations between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman.
"Since the establishment of ASEAN-China Strategic Partnership, our relations and economies have grown," Anifah told Xinhua in a recent interview ahead of the ASEAN Summit which starts on Sunday.
"In a global economy beset by uncertainties, we are now one of the few growth poles," He said.
Malaysia was the first ASEAN country to establish diplomatic ties with China. Anifah said his country supported China's proposal of a long-term framework of cooperation in a variety of areas when the two sides celebrated 10 years of the strategic partnership, and Malaysia believes that the strategic partnership will strengthen ASEAN-China relations and bring benefits to both ASEAN and China.
"Malaysia is of the view that healthy relations between ASEAN and China are not only important for ASEAN, but also for the wider world as well," said Anifah, stressing that both ASEAN and China should "continue to cast our eyes on the wider picture and on the broader horizon."
Anifah welcomed the China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) which he said is expected to bring greater prosperity to the region in the medium and long-term as it targets the creation of growth through key infrastructure development.
"Large-scale connectivity infrastructure projects potentially go a long way toward developing ASEAN, which in turn will have a positive impact on economic growth throughout the entire region."
All 10 ASEAN countries are among AIIB's 57 founding members. A study by the Asian Development Bank in 2009 predicted that Asia needs 8 trillion U.S. dollars on infrastructure investment between 2010 and 2020....Xinhua.....china.org.cn
26/4/15
Concerns About South China Sea Dominate ASEAN Summit ...
ReplyDeleteA summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations opened in Kuala Lumpur Monday, with Beijing's island-building efforts in the South China Sea set to dominate the two-day conference.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak opened the conference by urging the nine other ASEAN leaders to peacefully manage territorial disputes with China without increasing tensions in the region.
"Recent developments have raised concerns about the South China Sea, and given the importance of its sea lanes to international trade, it is natural that almost any occurrence there will attract global attention. ASEAN must address these developments in a proactive, but also in a positive and constructive way. Respect for international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, must be the basis of the rules of engagement and activities in the South China Sea. As Chairman, Malaysia hopes that we will achieve progress in our efforts towards an early conclusion of a Code of Conduct," said Najib.
Najib also highlighted the ASEAN vision of creating a single regional community, which the group will outline by the end of the year.
China has been reclaiming land and building airstrips and infrastructure in the Spratly islands, which are also claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan. The area is rich in natural resources and is a main trade route.
The disputed waters of the South China Sea are widely seen as a potential flashpoint. In 2002 ASEAN and China signed a non-binding agreement to manage the disputes peacefully. And work on a legally binding Code of Conduct has been stretched out over the following years. The Philippines and Vietnam are leading the call for faster work on completing the Code, which is backed by the United States and other countries............voanews.com
27/4/15
ASEAN draft statement says South China Sea land reclamation risks security...
ReplyDelete(Reuters) - ASEAN host Malaysia is set to give in to pressure from some neighbors and address the sensitive issue of land reclamations in the South China Sea with a draft summit statement saying such action may undermine peace, security and stability.
The statement to be issued after the closing ceremony of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Kuala Lumpur on Monday will raise the "serious concerns" of some leaders over the land reclamations, according to the draft statement seen by Reuters.
The statement says that reclamations have "eroded trust and confidence and may undermine peace, security and stability in the South China Sea".
"We reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security and freedom of navigation in and over-flight over the South China Sea," it said.
China claims 90 percent of the South China Sea, which is believed to be rich in oil and gas, with overlapping claims from Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan.
While many of the claimants have built facilities like airstrips on some of the islets and shoals they occupy, China's efforts have been by far the most extensive and dramatic.
Disputes over how to address the increasingly assertive role of China - an ally of several ASEAN states - in the strategic waters of the South China Sea has placed the issue squarely as Southeast Asia's biggest potential military flashpoint.
"They cannot ignore that some ASEAN members had strong statements on the issue, particularly the Philippines, which has expressed serious concern over these developments that could create tensions in the region," said an ASEAN diplomat.
Philippines has called on Southeast Asian nations to push for an immediate halt to China's reclamation. President Benigno Aquino held bilateral talks with Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on Sunday evening to discuss issue.
Recent satellite images show China has made rapid progress in building an airstrip suitable for military use in the South China Sea's Spratly Islands and may be planning another..............reuters.com
27/4/15
China "extremely concerned" by ASEAN statement on disputed sea...
ReplyDeleteChina's foreign ministry said on Tuesday (Apr 28) that it was "extremely concerned" after leaders of Southeast Asian countries expressed worry about land reclamation and navigational freedom in the disputed South China Sea.
China's reclamation work in the South China Sea has become the latest source of tension with some of its smaller neighbours, several of whom have competing territorial claims in the waters.
The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) said after a summit this week in Kuala Lumpur that reclamation work had "eroded trust and confidence and may undermine peace, security and stability in the South China Sea".
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said that China was "extremely concerned" that the closing statement addressed the South China Sea issue, which he said was not a problem between China and ASEAN.
"On this issue China has exercised extreme restraint," he said, repeating that China believed the dispute should be resolved via direct talks between the claimants.
There were no problems with freedom of navigation in the waters, Hong told a daily news briefing.
In a speech to ASEAN heads on state on Monday, Philippine president Benigno Aquino said the "massive reclamations" by China posed a threat to the security and stability of the region.....channelnewsasia.com
28/4/15