Beijing is poised to take “de facto control” of the South China Sea, the Philippines said yesterday, but its call for a robust regional response at a summit was shot down.
Alongside Taiwan, ASEAN members Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei claim parts of the body of water, but Beijing claims almost all of it; its territorial assertions have caused concern in the region and beyond.
“[China] is poised to consolidate de facto control of the South China Sea,” Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Albert del Rosario said in Kuala Lumpur a day ahead of an annual ASEAN summit.
Photo: AFP
He cited land reclamation on disputed reefs that has raised the specter of Chinese bases from which it can enforce its claims.
“Is it not time for ASEAN to say to our northern neighbor that what it is doing is wrong and that the massive reclamations must be immediately stopped?” del Rosario asked his fellow ministers. “Is it not time for ASEAN to finally stand up for what is right?”
However, summit host Malaysia rejected the idea of a response that could antagonize China.
“We must avoid any action that would be counterproductive and bring us further apart, either among ourselves, or with China,” Malaysian Minister of Foreign Affairs Anifah Aman said.
“I do not think ASEAN would like to be given an ultimatum, and by the same token I do not think China would like to be given an ultimatum,” he said.
Faced with Beijing’s immense trade and diplomatic leverage, ASEAN has a history of failing to agree on strong responses over the issue on behalf of its members with disputed maritime claims.
Concern over Chinese land reclamation was reignited this month by satellite photos showing huge amounts of sand being dredged and dumped onto fragile coral reefs claimed by the Philippines.
Defense analysts say these works are creating land masses big enough for airstrips and other facilities, raising the specter of deepening Chinese domination of a vital conduit for much of world trade.
A draft statement prepared well before the gathering began called for “self-restraint” at sea, but avoided direct criticism of China, a diplomatic source said previously.
“ASEAN member-states want to see that this matter should be settled amicably,” Anifah said, adding that he suggested China someday allow joint use of the islands it is constructing.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
SECOND SPEECH: All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist the CCP, despite their differences, the president said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday discussed how pro-Taiwan and pro-Republic of China (ROC) groups can agree to maintain solidarity on the issue of protecting Taiwan and resisting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The talk, delivered last night at Taoyuan’s Hakka Youth Association, was the second in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. Citing Taiwanese democracy pioneer Chiang Wei-shui’s (蔣渭水) slogan that solidarity brings strength, Lai said it was a call for political parties to find consensus amid disagreements on behalf of bettering the nation. All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist
By refusing to agree spending increases to appease US President Donald Trump, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez threatened to derail a summit that NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte needs to run smoothly for the sake of the military alliance’s future survival. Ahead of yesterday’s gathering in The Hague, Netherlands, things were going off the rails. European officials have expressed irritation at the spoiler role that Sanchez is playing when their No. 1 task is to line up behind a pledge to raise defense spending to 5 percent of GDP. Rutte needed to keep Spain in line while preventing others such as Slovakia
SHIFT PRIORITIES: The US should first help Taiwan respond to actions China is already taking, instead of focusing too heavily on deterring a large-scale invasion, an expert said US Air Force leaders on Thursday voiced concerns about the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) missile capabilities and its development of a “kill web,” and said that the US Department of Defense’s budget request for next year prioritizes bolstering defenses in the Indo-Pacific region due to the increasing threat posed by China. US experts said that a full-scale Chinese invasion of Taiwan is risky and unlikely, with Beijing more likely to pursue coercive tactics such as political warfare or blockades to achieve its goals. Senior air force and US Space Force leaders, including US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and