US President Barack Obama yesterday ended an Asian tour with a warning to China against using force in territorial disputes, as Chinese authorities accused the US president of ganging up with “troublemaking” allies.
The barbs ensured a tense finish to a four-nation trip dominated by the worsening maritime rows between China and US allies in the region.
“We believe that nations and peoples have the right to live in security and peace, to have their sovereignty and territorial integrity respected,” Obama told a gathering of US and Philippine troops in Manila. “We believe that international law must be upheld, that freedom of navigation must be preserved and commerce must not be impeded. We believe that disputes must be resolved peacefully and not by intimidation or force.”
Photo: AFP
The Philippines has been embroiled in one of the highest-profile territorial disputes with China, over tiny islets and reefs in the South China Sea. Beijing claims nearly all of the South China Sea.
The Philippines and the US signed an agreement on Monday that will allow a greater US military presence on Philippine bases.
Obama yesterday sought to reassure the Philippines that the US would back its ally in the event it was attacked, citing a 1951 mutual defense treaty.
Photo: Reuters
“This treaty means our two nations pledge, and I am quoting, ‘Our common determination to defend themselves from external armed attacks,’” Obama said.
“And no potential aggressor can be under the illusion that either of them stands alone. In other words, our commitment to defend the Philippines is ironclad,” he said.
Nevertheless, Obama did not specifically mention coming to the aid of Manila if there was a conflict over the contested South China Sea areas, as his hosts had hoped.
While offering pledges of protection to Tokyo and Manila, Obama also insisted the US was not seeking to counter or contain China.
Nevertheless, an editorial in the state-run China Daily yesterday signaled Chinese authorities viewed Obama’s trip as a tour of anti-Chinese hostility.
“It is increasingly obvious that Washington is taking Beijing as an opponent,” the editorial said.
“With Obama reassuring the US allies of protection in any conflict with China, it is now clear that Washington is no longer bothering to conceal its attempt to contain China’s influence in the region,” the editorial said.
The editorial warned against believing Obama’s “sweet promises” of a new, constructive relationship between the US and China, and instead outlined what it described as a “grim geopolitical reality.”
“Ganging up with its troublemaking allies, the US is presenting itself as a security threat to China,” the editorial said.
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