China
tells U.S. to stay out of South China Seas dispute
Send a link to a friend
[July 15, 2014]
By Ben Blanchard
BEIJING (Reuters) - China told the United
States on Tuesday to stay out of disputes over the South China Sea and
leave countries in the region to resolve problems themselves, after
Washington said it wanted a freeze on stoking tension.
|
Michael Fuchs, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for
Strategy and Multilateral Affairs, said no country was solely
responsible for escalating tension in the region. But he reiterated
the U.S. view that "provocative and unilateral" behaviour by China
had raised questions about its willingness to abide by international
law.
China claims 90 percent of the South China Sea, which is believed to
contain oil and gas deposits and has rich fishery resources. Brunei,
Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan also lay claim to
parts of the sea, where about $5 trillion of ship-borne trade passes
every year.
China's Foreign Ministry repeated that it had irrefutable
sovereignty over the Spratly Islands, where most of the competing
claims overlap, and that China continued to demand the immediate
withdrawal of personnel and equipment of countries which were
"illegally occupying" China's islands.
"What is regretful is that certain countries have in recent years
have strengthened their illegal presence through construction and
increased arms build up," the ministry said in a statement.
China would resolutely protect its sovereignty and maritime rights
and had always upheld resolving the issue based on direct talks with
the countries involved "on the basis of respecting historical facts
and international law", it added.
China "hopes that countries outside the region strictly maintain
their neutrality, clearly distinguish right from wrong and earnestly
respect the joint efforts of countries in the region to maintain
regional peace and stability", it added, in reference to the United
States.
Recent months have seen flare-ups in disputes over rival offshore
claims.
Anti-Chinese riots erupted in Vietnam in May after China's state oil
company CNOOC deployed an oil rig in waters also claimed by Vietnam,
which has also accused China of harassing its fishermen
China's official Xinhua news agency said authorities had on Tuesday
deported 13 Vietnamese fishermen and released one of two trawlers
seized recently for illegally fishing close Sanya on the southern
tip of China's Hainan island.
[to top of second column] |
Relations between China and the Philippines have also been tested in
recent months by their dispute over a different area. A Foreign
Ministry spokesman in Manila said the Philippines strongly supported
the U.S. call for all sides to stop aggravating the tension.
The United States wants the 10-nation Association of South East
Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China to have "a real and substantive
discussion" to flesh out a call for self-restraint contained in a
Declaration of Conduct they agreed to in 2002, with a view to
signing a formal maritime Code of Conduct, Fuchs said.
A U.S. official said the issue was raised again last week with China
at an annual Strategic and Economic Dialogue, a bilateral forum that
seeks to manage an increasingly complex and at times testy
relationship.
China's Foreign Ministry said that it and ASEAN were carrying out
the Declaration of Conduct and "steadily pushing forward" talks on
the Code of Conduct.
(Additional reporting by Manuel Mogato in Manila; Editing by Robert
Birsel)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
|