China was on a diplomatic collision course with some of its neighbors and the US over its controversial island building, as regional security talks opened in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
Beijing is expanding tiny reefs in the flashpoint South China Sea into islands and topping some with military posts to reinforce its claims over the strategic waters, fanning fears of a conflict.
Ahead of the gathering hosted by the 10-member ASEAN, Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) signaled no compromise.
During a stop in Singapore on Monday, Wang insisted that the issue should not be raised at the talks and that China would press ahead with its controversial land reclamation works.
“China has never believed that multilateral fora are the appropriate place for discussing specific bilateral disputes,” Wang told reporters before traveling to Malaysia.
Attempts to bring the issue up are “counterproductive” and “heighten confrontation,” he said.
However, US and Southeast Asian officials said the hot-button issue would be raised in Malaysia this week.
In his opening remarks yesterday, Malaysian Minister of Foreign Affairs Anifah Aman took a swipe at Beijing’s refusal to address the thorny issue with its neighbors at the talks.
“The ASEAN can and should play a vital part in effecting an amicable settlement” on the South China Sea, he told fellow foreign ministers. “Above all, we must be seen to address this issue peacefully and cooperatively. We have made a positive start, but we need to do more.”
Beijing claims control over nearly all of the strategically important South China Sea, a key shipping route thought to hold rich oil and gas reserves.
Alongside Taiwan, ASEAN members Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei all have various claims to the South China Sea.
Beijing has long insisted that disputes must be handled on a bilateral basis with rival claimants, rather than with a united bloc.
Adding to the tensions, a Washington-based think tank this week said that Beijing could be preparing to build a second airstrip on an artificial island.
China is already building a 3,000m runway on the Fiery Cross Reef (Yongshu Reef, 永暑礁), which could ultimately be used for combat operations, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Taiwan also claims the reef.
Wang rejected calls by some rival claimants and the US to suspend the land reclamation.
“The freeze proposal may seem even-handed on the surface, but it is actually unrealistic and will not work in practice,” he said.
Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Albert del Rosario said on the sidelines of the meeting that Manila was checking into the reports of a new runway.
The Philippines has been one of the most vocal critics of China’s actions at sea.
Only Southeast Asian foreign ministers met yesterday, but the talks are to expand today and tomorrow into the ASEAN Regional Forum, attended by US Secretary of State John Kerry, Wang, and envoys from the wider region, including Japan, South Korea, North Korea, Russia and other nations.
Kerry is to meet Wang this morning on the sidelines.
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