US, Japan, Australia chide China
VIENTIANE—The United States, Japan and Australia have urged China to stop constructing military outposts and reclaiming land in the disputed South China Sea in a strong show of support for Southeast Asian nations that have territorial disputes with Beijing in the resource-rich area.
A joint statement by the three allies, issued late Monday in the Laotian capital of Vientiane, ironically fills the vacuum created by the 10member Association of Southeast Asia Nations (Asean), which during its meeting of foreign ministers on Sunday failed to take a stand against China because of disunity among themselves.
“The ministers expressed their serious concerns over maritime disputes in the South China Sea. The ministers voiced their strong opposition to any coercive unilateral actions that could alter the status quo and increase
tensions,” said the statement issued by US Secretary of State John Kerry, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and Australian Foreign Secretary Julie Bishop.
The three met in Vientiane on the sidelines of a series of meetings organized by Asean, which could have leveraged the recent decision by the UN-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague.
Ruling in favor of the Philippines in a landmark case it brought against China in their dispute in the South China Sea, the PCA said China’s claim over almost all of the South China Sea was illegal.
Implicit in the ruling is that China has no standing in its other disputes with Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam, which also are Asean members. Taiwan is the sixth claimant in the dispute.
US backs rule of law
Later on Tuesday, Kerry said the United States had no position in the sea disputes, but he stressed the US government wanted all parties to follow the rule of law and settle their differences peacefully.
Kerry said the tribunal’s decision overturning China’s claims was final, binding and based on international law. “We absolutely support rule of law, the legal process and diplomacy,” he told reporters.
China, which also is attending the Asean conference hosted by Laos, has rejected the international tribunal’s decision, saying it has a historical claim over most of South China Sea. Beijing insists all disputes should be resolved bilaterally.
Kerry, who is scheduled to fly to Manila late Tuesday night, said he would encourage the Philippines to engage in bilateral negotiations with China to resolve their dispute in the South China Sea.
Divide-and-rule
During the meeting of its foreign ministers, Asean failed to reach a consensus because of China’s divide-and-rule diplomacy.
China scored a diplomatic victory by securing the backing of its two staunch allies—Cambodia and Laos—which resulted in Asean issuing a joint statement on South China Sea that did not mention China by name or the arbitration ruling.
It fell upon Asean’s three allies to rush to the regional bloc’s support.
In their joint statement, Japan, Australia and the United States called on China and the Philippines to abide by the arbitration panel’s award, “which is final and legally binding on both parties.”
“The ministers stressed that this is a crucial opportunity for the region to uphold the existing rules-based international order and to show respect for international law,” Kerry, Kishida and Bishop said in one of the strongest and most detailed warnings by the allies against China.
In a clear broadside at China, the statement urged all parties to refrain from “unilateral actions that cause permanent physical change to the marine environment . . . and from such actions as large-scale land reclamation, and the construction of outposts as well as the use of those outposts for military purposes.”
China has been rapidly developing reefs and rocky outcrops into islands in the South China Sea, including building airstrips capable of landing military aircraft.
China’s so-called historic rights to the vast sea was considered rubbish by the arbitration panel. The tribunal ruled that the sea was international waters and the rocky outcrops did not constitute sovereign islands that would give states ownership of the surrounding waters.
For years, China has prevented fishermen from other countries from venturing into the areas it claims, and has made it clear it will not back down despite the arbitration award, which it calls politically motivated, illegal and irrelevant.
It has accused countries outside the region—notably the United States, Japan and Australia—of meddling in Southeast Asia and destabilizing the region.
In recent days, China’s military has staged live-firing exercises in the area and said it would begin regular air patrols over the sea. It also has asserted that it will not be deterred from continuing construction of its man-made islands.
China seeks US help
In a sudden turnaround of Beijing’s position, however, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has asked Kerry to support the resumption of talks between China and the Philippines over the South China Sea.
On the sidelines of the Asean meeting, Wang told Kerry that China and Asean had agreed the dispute should get back onto the “correct” track of being resolved by direct talks with the parties concerned.
China “hopes the United States side takes actual steps to support the resumption of talks between China and the Philippines, and support the efforts of China and Asean to maintain regional peace and stability,” Wang said.
China has repeatedly blamed the United States for stoking tensions in the South China Sea and of taking sides in the dispute, accusations Washington denies.
Yasay position
Speaking to reporters in Vientiane, Philippine Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay said the dispute was not a fight between China and the United States but between China and the Philippines.
“We would like to pursue bilateral relationships in so far as the peaceful resolution of the dispute is concerned that is between the China and the Philippines. The others are not concerned with that dispute,” Yasay told reporters.