Chinese Minister of National Defense Chang Wanquan (常萬全) yesterday said that he is willing to hold joint drills in the disputed South China Sea with Southeast Asian nations, covering accidental encounters, and search and rescue, striking a conciliatory tone over an increasingly tense spat.
China’s relations with several Southeast Asian countries, especially the Philippines and Vietnam, have been strained over Beijing’s increasingly assertive tone in pushing territorial claims in the disputed South China Sea.
China has overlapping claims with Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei in the South China Sea, through which US$5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year.
Chang told his counterparts from all 10 ASEAN members at the start of an informal summit in Beijing that they all needed to push for the “correct” development of ties.
Chang said the biggest common need was to maintain stability.
In a statement carried by the ministry on its microblog, Chang was cited as saying that all sides should manage and control the risks from their disputes.
China is willing to hold joint exercises with ASEAN next year in the South China Sea on rules about accidental encounters at sea, search and rescue and disaster relief, the statement added, without providing further details.
China stepped up the creation of artificial islands in the South China Sea last year, drawing strong criticism from Washington.
Media reports say the US has decided to conduct freedom-of-navigation operations inside 12 nautical-mile (22km) limits that China claims around islands built on reefs in the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島).
China denies it has militarized the area, saying construction work is mostly for civilian purposes, and has warned that Beijing would not stand for violations of its territorial waters in the name of freedom of navigation.
The US says, under international law, that building up artificial islands on previously submerged reefs does not entitle a nation to claim a territorial limit and that it is vital to maintain freedom of navigation.
Chang, speaking in front of reporters, said there were other areas to work together on too.
“At present the regional situation is generally stable, but there are obvious downward economic pressures and non-traditional security challenges are increasing,” he said, pointing to the threat from terror groups.
“Forces from outside the region are using the Internet, social media and other means to carry out incitements against countries in this region, threatening social stability,” Chang said, without elaborating.
China says it faces a threat from Muslim militants in its far-western region of Xinjiang, who it says often use the Internet to spread propaganda, link up with groups outside of China and encourage attacks.
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