China snubs US call for ‘ sea freeze’

Naypyidaw, Aug. 9: A US proposal for a freeze on provocative acts in the South China Sea got a cool response from China and some Southeast Asian nations on Saturday, an apparent setback to Washington’s efforts to rein in China’s assertive actions.

US secretary of state John Kerry arrived in Myanmar’s capital, Naypyidaw, on Saturday for the Asean Regional Forum, joining foreign ministers and other top diplomats from China, Russia, Japan, India, Australia, the European Union and Southeast Asia among others.

“The United States and Asean have a common responsibility to ensure the maritime security of critical sea, lands and ports,” Mr Kerry said.

“We need to work together to manage tensions in the South China Sea and to manage them peacefully, and also to manage them on the basis of international law.” China rejects US involvement in the dispute and has already dismissed the proposal for a freeze. “Currently the situation in the South China Sea is stable on the whole. There has not been any problem regarding navigation in the South China Sea,” Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi told reporters. “Someone has been exaggerating or playing up the so- called ten- sions in the South China Sea. We don’t agree with such a practice.”

Le Luong Minh, secretarygeneral of the 10- member Association of Southeast Asian Nations ( Asean), said the US proposal was not discussed by Asean ministers because there was already a mechanism in place to curtail sensitive action such as land reclamation and building on disputed islands. The top Asean diplomat said it was up to Asean to work with China to reduce tension by improving compliance with a 2002 agreement, as they also work to conclude a binding Code of Conduct for maritime actions. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan also lay claim to parts of the sea. Meanwhile, Mr Kerry also warned Myanmar it had a long way to go in its transition from military rule to democracy and raised concerns over the progress of reforms. Washington’s top diplomat told Myanmar’s President Thein Sein that while the US acknowledged sweeping changes in the nation, fears remained over press freedom and religious unrest. “We have seen remarkable progress over the past few years, but there is a long way to go,” said a state department official.