US Secretary of State John Kerry yesterday said Washington wanted to avoid “confrontation” in the South China Sea, after an international tribunal rejected Beijing’s claims to most of the waters.
Kerry made the remarks after meeting with Philippine Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay in Manila where they discussed the Southeast Asian nation’s sweeping victory in the arbitration case against China.
The US’ top diplomat said that Washington wanted China and the Philippines to engage in talks and “confidence-building measures.”
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
“The decision itself is a binding decision, but we’re not trying to create a confrontation. We are trying to create a solution mindful of the rights of people established under the law,” Kerry said.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague this month ruled that China’s claim to most of the strategic waterway was inconsistent with international law.
The decision angered Beijing, which vowed to ignore the ruling.
However, Kerry said the US saw an “opportunity” for claimants to peacefully resolve the row.
“We hope to see a process that will narrow the geographic scope of the maritime disputes, set standards for behavior in contested areas, lead to mutually acceptable solutions, perhaps even a series of confidence-building steps,” he said.
Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei also have claims to the South China Sea, a vital waterway through which US$5 trillion in annual trade passes. It is also believed to sit atop vast reserves of oil and gas.
Kerry, who arrived in Manila on Tuesday after attending a regional summit in Laos, met with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.
Duterte’s spokesman Ernesto Abella said the president told Kerry that any bilateral talks with China would “begin with the ruling.”
Abella also said Duterte explained his war on crime and drugs to Kerry, who pledged US$32 million in US assistance for “training and services” for law enforcement.
Duterte has launched a bloody war on crime, urging law enforcers, communist rebels and even the public to kill criminals.
In related developments, Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) yesterday criticized the US, Japan and Australia for making a joint statement on the South China Sea he said was only “fanning the flames” of regional tension just as countries have agreed that the situation needs to cool down.
Wang said in a statement posted on the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Web site that the move by the three countries came at an inappropriate time and was not constructive.
“Now it is the time to test whether you are peacekeepers or troublemakers,” Wang said, referring to the three countries.
The trilateral statement had urged China not to construct military outposts and reclaim land in the disputed waters.
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