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ASEAN states back US call to stop S China Sea land reclamation

KUALA LUMPUR — South-east Asian countries yesterday backed a US call to halt land reclamation in the South China Sea, underlining unease in the region over Beijing’s continued expansion on disputed islands.

KUALA LUMPUR — South-east Asian countries yesterday backed a US call to halt land reclamation in the South China Sea, underlining unease in the region over Beijing’s continued expansion on disputed islands.

China has said it does not want the issue raised at this week’s meeting of foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said member nations had agreed that “exercising self-restraint in the conduct of activities that would complicate or escalate tensions must be enhanced” in the South China Sea.

Philippine Foreign Minister Albert del Rosario accused China of carrying out “massive reclamation activities” in the disputed waters. “We see no let-up on the unilateral and aggressive activities of our northern neighbour in the South China Sea,” he said.

“The massive reclamation activities ... have undermined peace, security and stability in the South China Sea,” he said, urging South-east Asian countries to address the issue with China.

In an earlier statement, Mr Del Rosario said the Philippines was ready to help de-escalate tensions if China and other claimant states agreed to be bound by the same conditions.

Neither China nor the United States are members of ASEAN, but both will be represented during several days of talks. US Secretary of State John Kerry is in Kuala Lumpur today and will stay till tomorrow.

“The Philippines fully supports and will proactively promote the call of the United States on the ‘three halts’ — halt in reclamation, halt in construction, and halt in aggressive actions that could further heighten tensions,” Mr Del Rosario said in a statement.

“We will agree to be bound only if China and other claimant states agree to the same.”

Singapore’s Foreign Minister K Shanmugam told reporters in Kuala Lumpur that the South China Sea issue could not be ignored, adding that the Republic is not happy with an informal code of conduct signed by ASEAN and China in 2002. “South China Sea is an issue. We cannot pretend that it’s not an issue,” he said. “We have got to move beyond philosophical discussions to actually say what is in the substance of the agreement.”

In a speech at a Singapore university yesterday, Mr Kerry addressed tensions in Asia and said America wanted a region where “countries cooperate to prevent small disputes from growing into large ones”.

Malaysia, the current chair of ASEAN, has said the topic is not off limits and would be raised. In opening remarks yesterday, Mr Anifah said the group should play a major role in reaching an amicable solution to the territorial dispute.

Beijing claims most of the South China Sea, through which US$5 trillion (S$6.88 trillion) worth of ship-borne trade passes every year.

The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei have overlapping claims.

China has shown no signs of halting its construction of artificial islands in disputed areas. It has accused the US of militarising the South China Sea by staging patrols and joint military drills, while America has called for a halt in Beijing’s artificial-island-building activities in the area.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in comments likely to provoke regional neighbours and Washington, said: “(The US and Philippines should) count how many runways there are in the South China Sea, and who built them first.”

In a front-page commentary on the overseas edition of the Communist Party’s official People’s Daily, a senior academic said the US was teaming up with Japan to “disrupt” the South China Sea.

“Japan has been cooperating with the United States to hype up the ‘China threat’, making noise for their alliance to interfere in the South China Sea (issue),” senior researcher Su Xiaohui from the Foreign Ministry-backed China Institute of International Studies wrote.

“This is not beneficial to regional peace and stability.” REUTERS

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