SINGAPORE-CHINA/FOREIGN MINISTER Chinese foreign minister visits Singapore, reiterates position on South China Sea issue

Record ID: 145268

  • Title: SINGAPORE-CHINA/FOREIGN MINISTER Chinese foreign minister visits Singapore, reiterates position on South China Sea issue
  • Date: 3rd August 2015
  • Summary: SINGAPORE (AUGUST 3, 2015) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTER WANG YI WALKING IN AND SHAKING HANDS WITH SINGAPORE PRIME MINISTER LEE HSIEN LOONG MORE OF WANG GREETING LEE VARIOUS OF LEE GREETING OTHER CHINESE OFFICIALS VARIOUS OF WANG AND LEE SPEAKING TO EACH OTHER WANG AT PODIUM (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTER, WANG
  • Embargoed: 18th August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Singapore
  • Country: Singapore
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVACN3VJEMB5IHXJDCJ9YFOY757Y
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Monday (August 3) that China is committed to peace and stability in the South China Sea.
    Wang was speaking in Singapore, where he met with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, a day before he was to due to be in Malaysia for the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Regional Forum (ARF), which is taking place against a backdrop of increasing tensions and overlapping claims in the potentially energy-rich South China Sea.
    At a news conference, Wang reiterated China's stance on the issue.
    "China's position regarding the South China Sea issue may be summarised in five commitment points. The first, we commit to upholding the peace and stability in the South China Sea. Secondly we are committed to peacefully resolving in the disputes by way of negotiation and consultation. Thirdly we are committed to managing our differences through developing rules and mechanisms and fourthly we are committed to generating mutually beneficial and win-win results through development and co-operation. At the moment the general situation in the South China Sea is stable, and China is steadfastly committed to working with the parties to maintain the situation which has not come easily. And we will never allow any country to destabilise the South China Sea," Wang said.
    He added that the bilateral issues between China and Asian countries involved in the South China Sea dispute should not be brought up during the ASEAN summit. But he added if there is a need to, he is willing to engage in discussion.
    The issue was not on the official agenda, but expectations had been high that it would be discussed against a backdrop of increasing tensions and overlapping claims in the potentially energy-rich South China Sea.
    The United States, worried about China's increasing assertiveness in the region, is expected to repeat a call for Beijing to halt land reclamation on islands in disputed waters.
    Neither the United States nor China are members of ASEAN, but have been invited to participate alongside other countries outside the group. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will be in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday (August 5) and Thursday (August 6).
    China claims most of the South China Sea, through which $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year, and rejects the rival claims of Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan.
    The Asian giant has repeatedly urged Washington not to take sides in the escalating maritime dispute over the area, where it last year stepped up construction of artificial islands, provoking U.S. criticism and alarming neighbours.
    "The focus of the dispute between China and some countries, that's not in regard to the so-called 9 dash line. Rather, the focus of dispute is about the illegal occupation of some of the islands and reefs that belong to China's Nansha group of islands, and the overlapping maritime rights and interests that had arised as a result of the territorial dispute. And China's position on the issue has been consistent and clear-cut, and I will not repeat China's position here. I think anyone familiar with the basic fact and history of the issue would understand that the so-called 9 dash line issue is just hype-up," he said.
    The claims of the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei are bisected by China's "nine-dash line" - the historic claim that reaches deep into the maritime heart of Southeast Asia.
    Overlapping claims in the South China Sea - traversed by half the world's shipping tonnage - are one of the region's biggest flashpoints amid China's military build-up and the U.S. strategic "pivot" back to Asia.
    Wang is due to arrive in Malaysia on Tuesday (August 4) for the ASEAN summit.
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