US Secretary of State John Kerry yesterday called on China and the Philippines to abide by an international tribunal’s decision on the disputed South China Sea and said there was no military solution to the problem.
Kerry’s remarks, made in a visit to India, came ahead of a G20 summit in China on Sunday and Monday that could be overshadowed by arguments over everything from territorial disputes to protectionism by China, diplomats say.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands, ruled in July that China did not have historic rights to the South China Sea.
China dismissed the case lodged by the Philippines and rejected the ruling.
“The United States continues to call on China and the Philippines to abide by the tribunal’s recent decision which is final and legally binding on both parties,” Kerry told a gathering of students in New Delhi.
China claims most of the South China Sea, through which more than US$5 trillion of trade moves annually. Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam have rival claims.
China has vowed to take all measures needed to protect its sovereignty over the sea and says its actions there are peaceful.
China has blamed the US and its allies in the region, such as Japan and Australia, for stoking tension.
The US and Japan have no territorial claims in the South China Sea and say their priority is freedom of navigation.
Kerry said the US supported diplomatic efforts to resolve territorial disputes to which there was “no military solution.”
“We are also interested in not fanning the flames of conflict, but rather trying to encourage the parties to resolve their disputes and claims through the legal process and through diplomacy,” Kerry said.
The US and India on Tuesday reiterated the importance of freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea, in a joint statement issued after security talks.
They said states should resolve disputes through peaceful means and “exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities that could complicate or escalate disputes affecting peace and stability.”
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