Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has vowed not to stir up trouble in the South China Sea, but said China would react “in the necessary way” to provocations by other countries, Xinhua news agency reported.
The comments come at a time of deep tension between China and Vietnam over Beijing’s decision early last month to move an oil rig into disputed waters between the Paracel Islands (Xisha Islands, 西沙群島) and the Vietnamese coast.
Days after China deployed the rig, the Philippines accused Beijing of reclaiming land on a disputed reef in the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島) to build what would be its first airstrip in the South China Sea.
“We will never stir up trouble, but will react in the necessary way to the provocations of countries involved,” Xinhua quoted Xi late on Friday as saying in a meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.
Malaysia is also embroiled in a long-running maritime dispute with China.
Taiwan and Brunei also claim parts of the potentially oil and gas-rich South China Sea.
China has become increasingly willing and able to assert its claims over disputed waters, causing concern among the other parties to the disputes, analysts say.
The decision to deploy the oil rig enraged Vietnam and sparked anti-China rioting.
Scores of Vietnamese and Chinese ships continue to square off around the rig and a Vietnamese boat sank this week after a collision that both sides blamed on the other.
Xi told Najib the situation in the South China Sea was “stable in general, but signs deserving our attention have also emerged.”
China and Malaysia should “work together to strengthen dialogue and communication, advance maritime cooperation and joint development to maintain peace and stability on the South China Sea,” Xinhua quoted him as saying.
Southeast Asian nations with maritime claims have been slow to band together against China, but last week Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Philippine President Benigno Aquino III made a rare joint denunciation of China.
To try to keep pressure on Beijing, diplomats said Vietnam might host a meeting with Philippine and Malaysian officials at the end of the month to discuss how to respond to China.
A senior Malaysian diplomatic source said two weeks ago that China’s assertiveness had given momentum to the three-way talks and “brought us together,” but he played down the discussions as little more than “chitchat” at this stage.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of