China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, right, listens while U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry talks before a bilateral meeting at the Putra World Trade Center in Kuala Lumpur
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry yesterday urged China to end provocative land reclamation projects in the South China Sea and work out effective resolutions to territorial disputes with its smaller neighbors. A senior U.S. official said Kerry had earlier made a blunt case for easing tensions in a closed-door meeting with China’s foreign minister.
“The United States shares the frequently expressed desire of ASEAN members to preserve the peace and stability of the South China Sea,» Kerry told the ASEAN ministers.
Chinese land reclamation in contested waters has irked Southeast Asian nations who, like the U.S., want China to stop. Washington is calling for a halt to aggressive actions by China and other claimants to allow a diplomatic solution to the rift.
China rejects any U.S. involvement and insists it has the right to continue the reclamation projects. Beijing was opposed to the issue being raised at the security forum.
Kerry met earlier yesterday with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The senior U.S. official said the secretary had reiterated U.S. concerns about the rising tensions and “China’s large scale reclamation, construction, and militarization of features.”
The official said Kerry had “encouraged” China, and the other claimants, “to halt problematic actions in order to create space for diplomacy.”
Kerry told the ASEAN ministers that his meeting with Wang had been “good.” He said he hoped that over the course of the two-day forum “we will find a way to move forward effectively, together, all of us.”
However, Wang on Tuesday said all of Beijing’s activities are in Chinese territory and there should be no double standards on the issue, a reference to land reclamation work by other claimants. He said all parties should support China and ASEAN in speeding up negotiations for a code of conduct.
“It’s not a constructive move to exercise double standards on the issue,” Wang told reporters. “China and ASEAN are capable enough to work together to maintain the peace and stability in the South China Sea.” Matthew Lee, Diplomatic Writer, Kuala Lumpur, AP
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