US President Barack Obama yesterday said Beijing should not ignore a tribunal’s ruling rejecting its sweeping claims to the South China Sea, driving tensions higher in a territorial row that threatens regional security.
The dispute has raised fears of military confrontation between the world’s superpowers, with China determined to cement control of the strategically vital waters despite a July verdict that its claims have no legal basis.
“The landmark arbitration ruling in July, which is binding, helped to clarify maritime rights in the region,” Obama told Southeast Asian leaders at a summit in Laos.
“I recognize this raises tensions, but I also look forward to discussing how we can constructively move forward together to lower tensions and promote diplomacy and stability,” he said.
The verdict by an international tribunal in The Hague said China’s claims to most of the waters had no legal basis.
The ruling also said that a massive burst of artificial island-building activity undertaken by China in recent years in a bid to bolster its claims was illegal.
China angrily vowed to ignore the ruling, describing it as “waste paper.”
Obama’s emphasis on the ruling being “binding” will undoubtedly attract a strong reaction from China, which has said that Washington has no role to play in the dispute.
Other claimants in the sea are the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei — all part of the 10-member ASEAN bloc meeting in Laos — plus Taiwan.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (李克強) is also in Laos this week, with ASEAN hosting a series of regional meetings, and gathered with Obama later yesterday at an 18-nation East Asia summit.
ASEAN leaders on Wednesday released a statement saying they were “seriously concerned” over recent developments in the sea.
However, intensive Chinese lobbying helped to ensure there was no mention of the July ruling in the ASEAN statement.
The East Asia statement to be released later yesterday was also going to give a muted response, according to a draft statement.
ASEAN and its partners “reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace, stability and security and freedom of navigation in and over-flight in the South China Sea,” the draft statement said.
“Several leaders remained seriously concerned over recent developments in the South China Sea... We stressed the importance for the parties concerned to resolve their disputes by peaceful means, in accordance with universally recognized principles of international laws,” it said.
ASEAN works by consensus, and China has successfully pressured Cambodia and Laos in recent years to ensure the bloc does not gang together to heavily pressure Beijing.
However, the Philippines on Wednesday released photos it said showed renewed Chinese island-building activity, in a deliberate move to throw the issue into the spotlight.
The Chinese ships were at Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島), a small fishing ground within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone that China took control of in 2012.
If China did build an island at the shoal, it could lead to a military outpost just 230km from the main Philippine island, where US forces are stationed.
It would also be a major step in Beijing’s quest to control the sea, giving it the ability to enforce an air defense identification zone.
Obama warned Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in March not to build at the shoal.
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