The US said it would seek to help defuse tensions in the strategic and resource-rich South China Sea as it was set to hold talks with China in Hawaii yesterday.
Tensions in the South China Sea have escalated in recent weeks, with the Philippines and Vietnam alarmed at what they say are increasingly aggressive actions by Beijing in the disputed waters.
“The United States has no intention to fan the flames in the South China Sea and we have a very strong interest in the maintenance of peace and stability,” Assistant US Secretary of State Kurt Campbell told reporters on Friday.
He said he expected the South China Sea disputes to be raised at the US-China meeting in Honolulu, which is part of the two countries’ strategic and economic dialogue. He was to attend the talks.
“We’ve been very clear that the United States does not take a position on sovereignty issues, but we also have strong principles that are long-standing in the maintenance of freedom of navigation, and free and unimpeded legal commerce and the maintenance of peace and stability” said Campbell, the top US diplomat for East Asia.
“Those principles are long-standing and will continue, and we underscore them in all of our interactions in the Asia-Pacific region,” he added. “It is not our desire to see, as I said, these flames fanned. We want recent tensions to subside and cooler heads to prevail.”
Meanwhile, Washington has vowed to boost the Philippines’ intelligence capabilities in the South China Sea, Manila said yesterday.
This comes after the US said on Thursday it was ready to provide hardware to modernize the military of its close, but impoverished ally.
US National Director for Intelligence (NDI) James Clapper made the commitment in a meeting with Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario in Washington.
Del Rosario is in the US seeking help for the Philippines’ poorly equipped military.
“The US official pledged to enhance the NDI’s intelligence sharing with the Philippines to heighten the latter’s maritime situational awareness and surveillance in the West Philippine Sea,” a Philippine Foreign Department statement said.
Clapper was quoted as saying that “we’ll do whatever we can to help” as he expressed concern about recent events in the South China Sea.
The “West Philippine Sea” is the term that the Philippine government now uses for the South China Sea to further stress its claim over that area.
Del Rosario was quoted as saying he was “exploring an option” which would allow the Philippines to acquire newer military equipment at a lower cost.
However, he did not say what this option was.
The Philippines had sought to modernize its military following a series of incidents with China in the South China Sea, particularly in the Spratly Islands (南沙群島), a chain of islets believed to sit on vast mineral resources.
However, a spokeswoman for Philippine President Benigno Aquino III said the renewed ties between the US and the Philippines should not agitate China.
Aside from China and the Philippines, Tawain, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam also claim all or part of the South China Sea which includes the Spratlys.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
The Philippines yesterday criticized a “high-risk” maneuver by a Chinese vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in a rare incident involving warships from the two navies. The Scarborough Shoal — a triangular chain of reefs and rocks in the contested South China Sea — has been a flash point between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012. Taiwan also claims the shoal. Monday’s encounter took place approximately 11.8 nautical miles (22km) southeast” of the Scarborough Shoal, the Philippine military said, during ongoing US-Philippine military exercises that Beijing has criticized as destabilizing. “The Chinese frigate BN 554 was
LEISURE: The new law adds Confucius’ birthday, the anniversary of the Battle of Guningtou, Constitution Day and Little New Year as national holidays The Legislative Yuan yesterday passed new legislation adding four national holidays and making Workers’ Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party used their combined majority in the legislature to push the jointly proposed draft through its third and final reading. This new law supersedes the existing regulations for the implementation of memorial days and state holidays, which are administered by the Ministry of the Interior. The new law recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the anniversary of the Battle of Guningtou on Oct. 25, Constitution Day on Dec. 25 and “Little New Year,”
RSS