China calls for peace & stability, patrols in Asian seas legitimate

East meets West: China’s People’s Liberation Army deputy chief of general staff, Lieutenant General Qi Jianguo (right), welcomes US Navy Admiral Samuel Locklear, the commander of US forces in the Pacific region, to a meeting on the sidelines of the 12th International Institute for Strategic Studies Asia Security Summit: The Shangri-La Dialogue, in Singapore on Sunday. Reuters/Edgar Su


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The 12th Shangri-la Dialogue, also known as the Asia-Pacific Security Summit, has concluded in Singapore. China’s representative has insisted that its development is peaceful and poses no threat to the Asia-Pacific region.

Instead of focusing on conflicts, this year’s Shangri-la dialogue has taken the theme of cooperation. That theme was evident in a speech delivered by Lieutenant General Qi Jianguo, deputy chief of general staff of the People’s Liberation Army of China.

Qi Jianguo, Deputy Chief of General Staff, PLA, said, "China will always follow the road of peaceful development and remain committed to peaceful, open, co operative and mutually beneficial development. China’s development and prosperity is a major opportunity rather than a challenge or even a threat to countries in the Asia-Pacific region. China seeks cooperation and mutual benefit, and just its own exclusive development."

Qi also said that China encourages dialogue and consultation to resolve disputes in the region, but it will not waiver in its determination to safeguard national interests.

"China’s hope for sustained peace and stability in this region, and its stress on dialogue and consultation for the sake of peace by no means denotes unconditional compromise. Our resolve and commitment to safeguarding core national interests always stands steadfast."

In 2012, the US officially laid out a strategy of rebalancing its presence in the region. One year on, its relationship with China has become a center of attention at the Dialogue. US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said the US welcomes the rise of a powerful and responsible China.

Chuck Hagel, US Defense Secretary, said, "We have interests here too, just as China and Russia and other nations have interests all over the world. We don’t want miscalculations and misunderstandings. The only way you do that is to talk to each other. You got to be direct with each other. You have to share with each other. I think we are on track with that. We’ve made progress on that. I think we’ve made continued progress and we’ll make more progress."

The Shangri-La Dialogue was launched in 2002. It aims to provide a platform for Asia-Pacific military and government officials to foster practical security cooperation in the region. - (Source: CNTV.cn)

Chinese patrols in Asian seas legitimate 

Chinese warships will continue to patrol waters where Beijing has territorial claims, a top general said Sunday, amid simmering rows with neighbouring countries over the South China Sea and islands controlled by Japan.

Lieutenant General Qi Jianguo, deputy chief of the general staff of the People's Liberation Army, defended the patrols as legitimate and said his country's sovereignty over the areas could not be disputed.

"Why are Chinese warships patrolling in East China Sea and South China Sea? I think we are all clear about this," Qi told the annual Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore.

"Our attitude on East China Sea and South China Sea is that they are in our Chinese sovereignty. We are very clear about that," he said through an interpreter.

"So the Chinese warships and the patrolling activities are totally legitimate and uncontroversial."

Qi was responding to a question from a delegate after giving a speech in which he sought to assure neighbouring countries that China has no hegemonic ambitions.

"China has never taken foreign expansion and military conquering as a state policy," he said.

One delegate however said there appeared to be growing regional scepticism over China's peaceful intentions because it was inconsistent with moves to send naval patrols to waters where other countries also have claims.

China is locked in a territorial dispute with Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam in the South China Sea.

The four states have partial claims to islands but China says it has sovereign rights to nearly all of the sea, including areas much closer to other countries and thousands of kilometres from the Chinese coast.

China also has a dispute with Japan over the Senkaku islands, which Beijing calls the Diaoyus, in the East China Sea.

"I do hope the statements of the good general today will be translated into action," Philippine Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin told reporters.

He said Qi's remarks about China having no hegemonic ambitions were "far from what is happening" in the sea.

Manila last month protested at what it called the "provocative and illegal presence" of a Chinese warship near Second Thomas Shoal, which is occupied by Philippine troops.

Among the other moves that have caused alarm were China's occupation of a shoal near the Philippines' main island last year, and the deployment in March of Chinese naval ships to within 80 kilometres (50 miles) of Malaysia's coast.

Competing claims have for decades made the area -- home to rich fishing grounds and vital global shipping lanes and believed to sit atop vast natural gas deposits -- one of Asia's potential military flashpoints.

China and Vietnam fought in 1974 and 1988 for control of islands in battles that left dozens of soldiers dead.

The US-China strategic rivalry also loomed large during the conference, with US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Saturday accusing Beijing of waging cyber espionage against the United States.

But General Qi on Sunday allayed concerns that China had dropped a pledge not to be the first to use nuclear weapons in a conflict.

Omission of the "no-first-use" pledge in a recent defence white paper had created ripples in military circles and sparked speculation that China may have abandoned the policy.

Qi also distanced his government from claims by some Chinese scholars that the Ryukyu Islands, which include Okinawa, do not belong to Japan.

"This is only an article of particular scholars and their views on these issues... it does not represent the views of the Chinese government," he said.

- Source: AFP France

China, Brunei to foster ties

Both countries pledge to step up bilateral cooperation 

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China and Brunei agreed on Friday to nurture their relations at a higher level as "strategic" and "Cooperative", vowing to step up bilateral cooperation in areas like energy and infrastructure.



The agreement was reached while Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with the visiting Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah in Beijing.

Xi praised China-Brunei relations that featured mutual respect and equality as a regional model for small and big nations to harmoniously coexist and harvest mutual benefits and common prosperity.

"Strategic and cooperative China-Brunei relations will boost bilateral cooperation and play a leading role to promote regional peace and development," Xi said.

He stressed the two nations should pay sufficient attention to each other's key concerns and honor their independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity as well as the development paths chosen to fit their domestic situation.

"China encourages its companies to actively involve themselves into Brunei's infrastructure and agriculture development and looks for further progress on bilateral cooperation in the oil and gas, petrochemical and renewable energy sectors," Xi told Hassanal.

The Chinese president also highlighted the country's foreign policy with neighboring countries, calling on the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to jointly safeguard the peace and stability of the South China Sea and resolve disputes via direct friendly dialogue and consultation between the involved sovereign states.

China will work actively with Brunei, who chairs the ASEAN in 2013, to eliminate any possibilities that might undermine friendly cooperation with ASEAN and reinforce peace and stability in the region, Xi noted.

China will continue to back ASEAN's leading role on East Asia affairs, he added.

Echoing Xi's views, Hassanal acknowledged China's development as a major contributor to boost regional development and prosperity.

Brunei believes the ASEAN-China ties will continue to grow and involved parties should seek for peaceful resolutions to disputes concerning the South China Sea via dialogue and consultation based on the the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties, Hassanal said.

He also pledged an active role that Brunei will play to nurture ties between the ASEAN and China.

Hassanal is the first foreign head of state Xi has received after he was elected Chinese president in March. The two leaders will attend the opening ceremony of the annual Boao Forum for Asia on Sunday in southern China's Hainan Province.- Xinhua

Asean nations feud over South China Sea

PHNOM PENH - Southeast Asian leaders feuded on Monday over how to handle tense maritime territorial disputes with China, overshadowing talks at a regional summit meant to strengthen trade and political ties.

The leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations had hoped to present a united front on the South China Sea row as they host Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and US President Barack Obama for annual talks.

But that effort broke down just before Southeast Asian leaders were scheduled to meet Wen, amid divisions between Chinese ally Cambodia and the Philippines.

Cambodia, this year's ASEAN chair, said on Sunday that Southeast Asian leaders had agreed not to "internationalise" the disputes and would confine negotiations to those between the bloc and China.

The apparent deal would have been a victory for China, which has long insisted that it should only negotiate directly with rival countries and that the Philippines should not seek support from the United States.

However Philippine President Benigno Aquino on Monday publicly rebuked Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, telling his fellow leaders no such consensus had been reached and he would continue to speak out on the global stage.

"The Philippines... has the inherent right to defend its national interests when deemed necessary," Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario told reporters, quoting Aquino's comments to his fellow leaders on Monday morning.

The feud echoed unprecedented infighting at an ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting in Phnom Penh in July, which ended for the first time in the bloc's 45-year history without a joint communique.

The Philippines and Vietnam had wanted the communique to make specific reference to their disputes with China. But Cambodia, the hosts of the talks and a close China ally, blocked the moves.

ASEAN members Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei, as well as Taiwan, have claims to parts of the sea, which is home to some of the world's most important shipping lanes and believed to be rich in fossil fuels.

But China insists it has sovereign rights to virtually all of the sea.

Tensions have risen steadily over the past two years, with the Philippines and Vietnam accusing China of increasingly aggressive diplomatic tactics to stake its claims.

Temperatures could rise again later Monday when Obama arrives in Phnom Penh to join the East Asia Summit, a two-day event also involving the leaders of Japan, South Korea, India, New Zealand and Australia.

Obama has previously angered China, and emboldened the Philippines, by calling for the rival claimants to agree on a legally binding code of conduct to govern their actions over the sea.

Analysts said he would likely repeat that call in Phnom Penh, as well as make comments highlighting the importance of freedom of navigation in the sea.

ASEAN officials had said they would push Wen during their talks on Monday to quickly start high-level, formal negotiations on a code of conduct.

But Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang insisted that China wanted to continue with the current arrangement of lower-level talks on the issue. "We already have good discussions with ASEAN," Qin said.

Even with the South China Sea row festering, countries involved in the East Asia Summit were expected to focus on ways to expand economic ties.

ASEAN nations are set to officially launch negotiations on Tuesday for an enormous free trade pact with China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

And despite their own territorial rows, China, Japan and South Korea are likely to hold talks in Phnom Penh on Tuesday aimed at kickstarting three-way free trade negotiations, according to Qin. - AFP

China opposes 'internationalisation' of sea row

Phnom Penh (AFP) Nov 19, 2012 - Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao told Southeast Asian leaders Monday that negotiations to end territorial disputes in the South China Sea should only be held between claimant countries.

Wen stressed Beijing's position during a summit with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters.

Qin said Wen quoted from a 2002 deal reached between ASEAN and China in which they agreed to limit negotiations to "directly concerned" countries.

Wen said that among the principles under the 10-year-old declaration is to "oppose the internationalisation of the issue".
"So Premier Wen quoted the principles... enshrined in the declaration," according to Qin.

ASEAN members Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei, as well as Taiwan, have claims to parts of the sea, which is also believed to be rich in fossil fuels.

But China insists it has sovereign rights to virtually all of the sea.

Tensions have risen steadily over the past two years, with the Philippines and Vietnam accusing China of increasingly aggressive diplomatic tactics to stake its claims.

The Philippines has consistently sought wider help, such as from close ally the United States, in dealing with its more powerful Asian neighbour on the South China Sea issue.

The controversy of "internationalisation" flared again in Phnom Penh this week with the Philippines insisting it should not have to confine its negotiations to just with China.

US President Barack Obama, who arrived in Phnom Penh on Monday night for an 18-nation East Asia Summit, was also expected to raise his concerns over the South China Sea, which would anger the Chinese but embolden the Philippines.

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