Philippine President Benigno Aquino III said on Thursday that ASEAN will be unified should China use its weight as regional superpower in territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
Aquino, speaking a day ahead of a meeting of US President Barack Obama and leaders of the 10-member ASEAN that will focus on territorial spats with China, said Beijing has so far not tried to “push us around.”
However, he said after a speech on the sidelines of a UN global summit: “In case that happens, I think ASEAN has demonstrated that we will stand as a bloc.”
In a reference to China, he said: “Hopefully we don’t hear the phrase ‘South China Sea’ with reference to it being their sea.”
Aquino, the son of democracy icons, also praised the Obama administration’s attempts to strengthen its role in the region, saying the US has shown a willingness to make its military presence felt.
The Philippines has said it plans a major renovation of an airport on an island it occupies in the contentious Spratlys chain in the South China Sea. Taiwan, China and other nations also claim all or parts of the island group.
According to a draft communique, Obama and Southeast Asian leaders will call for the peaceful settlement of South China Sea territorial disputes and urge claimants not to resort to force.
Beijing was furious after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told a regional security forum in Vietnam in July that the peaceful resolution of disputes over the Spratly and Paracel island groups was a US national interest. Beijing said Washington was interfering in an Asian regional issue.
US State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters on Thursday that the US supports the principle of freedom of navigation in the region.
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