The King, State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs in charge of China's diplomacy [Photo by Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] China has reiterated its sovereignty claims and criticized the United States' "freedom of navigation" operations.
According to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs website on the 5th, Wang Yi, China's State Councilor and Foreign Minister, proposed the so-called "four respects" regarding the South China Sea issue?'facts,' 'law (international law),' 'common understanding,' and 'regional countries'?during the East Asia Summit (EAS) Foreign Ministers' meeting held via video conference the previous day, and criticized the U.S. "freedom of navigation" operations that dispatch warships to the South China Sea.
Minister Wang said, "Individual extraregional countries recklessly provoke by sending a large number of advanced warships and aircraft into the South China Sea out of fear that the world might fall into chaos." This statement is interpreted as being directed at the United States.
He added, "China and ASEAN countries clearly recognize the malicious intentions of extraregional forces and must firmly say 'no' to acts that undermine the overall peace and stability of the South China Sea and destroy the unity and cooperation of regional countries."
He continued, "At the same time, we warn these extraregional forces," emphasizing, "Respect sincerely the efforts of regional countries to maintain peace, and never again extend a black hand into the South China Sea."
China claims most of the South China Sea, through which maritime transport worth trillions of dollars occurs annually, as its territorial waters and is engaged in sovereignty disputes with Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
