The United States is concerned about China’s “increasingly dangerous and unlawful actions” in disputed regional waterways, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Southeast Asian leaders on Friday while reiterating U.S. support for freedom of navigation and flight.
Offshore territorial disputes between an increasingly assertive China and its neighbors have raised fears of an armed clash and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, has been trying to negotiate a “code of conduct” with China to prevent that.
But progress on the code has been slow while confrontations in disputed waters have been increasing between Chinese maritime authorities and vessels from the Philippines and Vietnam, in particular.
“We remain concerned about China’s increasingly dangerous and unlawful actions in the South and East China Seas, which have injured people and harmed vessels from ASEAN nations, and contradict commitments to peaceful resolution of disputes,” Blinken told the opening of an ASEAN-US summit in Laos.
“The United States will continue to support freedom of navigation and freedom of overflight in the Indo-Pacific,” he said.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea while ASEAN members the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei, have overlapping claims to parts of it, as does Taiwan.
China also has a territorial dispute with Japan in the East China Sea.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang also held a summit with ASEAN leaders in the Lao capital, Vientiane. He did not mention territorial disputes in his opening remarks on Thursday but hailed “new strides” in building a community with a “shared future.”
“Our political mutual trust has deepened; our traditional friendship has grown stronger; and our practical cooperation has expanded,” Li said.
‘Manage tensions’
In a veiled reference to the United States, with which China competes for influence in the region, Li told an ASEAN Plus Three Summit on Thursday that the region faced instability and uncertainty, “especially the frequent interference and disturbance of foreign forces, and even attempts to introduce camp confrontation and geopolitical conflicts into Asia.”
“Asia had suffered from the scourge of colonization and invasion in modern times, but over the past decades, our region has maintained rapid development. That is because Asian countries have drawn lessons from the past and endeavored to uphold peace and stability in the region,” the Chinese premier said.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. complained to ASEAN leaders on Thursday of Chinese “harassment and intimidation,” in the South China Sea.
Writing on Facebook he added that the situation required more than just dialogue.
“It calls for a genuine commitment from all parties to manage tensions, uphold international laws and find common ground,” Marcos said.
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Vietnam’s prime minister, Pham Minh Chinh, called for the ASEAN code of conduct on the South China Sea to be completed and for a peaceful resolution of the offshore disputes.
“He underlined the need to enhance dialogue and peacefully resolve disputes in the region, including in the East Sea, turning the East Sea into a zone of peace, stability, cooperation, and long-term sustainable development,” the state-run state Voice of Vietnam reported, using Vietnam’s name for the South China Sea.
“He called for the substantive and effective conclusion of the code of conduct negotiations in accordance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,” it reported.
In a landmark 2016 decision, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled that China’s claims in the South China Sea were not supported by international law. China rejects that decision.
Edited by Mike Firn.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Pimuk Rakkanam for RFA.