US warns China over island expansion
The United States has made its strongest condemnation of China’s expansion of artificial islands in the South China Sea, warning that Washington will not tolerate restrictions of navigation and over-flights in the flashpoint waters.
US Secretary of State John Kerry told a diplomatic summit in Malaysia that the freedom of movement across the waters where China has been reclaiming land and building runways and other infrastructure was an ‘‘intrinsic right’’.
‘‘Let me be clear. The United States will not accept restrictions on freedom of navigation and overflight, or other lawful uses of the sea,’’ Kerry said.
Amid escalating tensions over the waterways, the 10 nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations warned of an ‘‘erosion of trust and corrosion of confidence’’ among rival claimants.
They urged ‘‘preventative measures to ensure disagreement among parties does not escalate into a situation that may undermine peace, security and stability.’’
Kerry weighed into the conflict at the summit, where southeast Asian nations have traditionally conducted business with polite diplomatic consensus, accusing China of duplicitous behaviour over its claim to almost all of the South China Sea.
‘‘Despite assurances that these freedoms [of movement] would be respected, we have seen warnings issued and restrictions attempted in recent months,’’ he said.
‘‘Freedom of navigation and overflight are among the essential pillars of international maritime law.’’
China has repeatedly warned Philippine military aircraft away from the islands and in May, the Chinese navy issued eight warnings to a US surveillance aircraft that was flying over the area.
Mr Kerry made the comments in front of his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi who earlier objected to the conflict being raised at the annual summit.
Wang told journalists that China has ended its expansion of the islands and that they would be only used for non-combat purposes such as search and rescue.
But US military chiefs have said publicly they believe China is building military posts on the islands.
Kerry pointedly called for an end to China’s ‘‘militarisation’’ of the region.
Australia’s Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, who registered Canberra’s concern about rising tensions in the area, suggested at the talks that if China intended to use the islands for non-military purposes, perhaps other countries like Australia could have access to them. Chinese officials did not respond to the suggestion.
Kerry also called on all nations with overlapping claims to the region, including the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan and Brunei, to make a joint commitment to halt further land reclamation and the construction of new facilities.
Officials said the controversy dominated negotiations at the summit as claimant nations, particularly the Philippines and Vietnam, pushed for stronger language against China in Asean’s communique, while some of China’s key Asean allies did not want any finger-pointing at Beijing.
Carl Thayer, an expert on the South China Sea at Canberra’s Australian Defence Force Academy, said while the US was ‘‘upping the ante,’’ Mr Kerry’s words had to be followed through with action.
‘‘China has already stopped construction. They’re building infrastructure,’’ he said.
‘‘China is slowly excising the maritime heart from south-east Asia.’’
The United States will not accept restrictions on freedom of navigation and over-flight, or other lawful uses of the sea. John Kerry US Secretary of State
Fairfax/Agencies