US-China tensions eclipse ARF

Ministers from 27 countries concluded Saturday the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), the biggest security talks in Asia Pacific, with a commitment to solve regional disputes peacefully.

At the forum, the US and China indicated they would continue to flex their muscles to spread their influence in the region.

At the meeting, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton conveyed US proposals on issues in the region that directly challenged China.
Business talks: US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton gestures as she delivers her remarks at the Regional Entrepreneurship Summit in Nusa Dua, Bali, on Saturday. AP/Dita Alangkara

Clinton urged countries with competing claims in the South China Sea to back their territorial claims with legal evidence — a challenge to China’s declaration of sovereignty over vast stretches of the area.

“We call on all parties to clarify their claims in the South China Sea in terms consistent with customary international law. Claims to maritime space in the South China Sea should be derived solely from legitimate claims to land features,” she said.

While the US has no claims in the area and has said it would not take sides in matter, Clinton reiterated that her country had interests in ensuring the sea, one of the world’s busiest international sea lanes, would remain an uninterrupted channel for transportation, calling on all countries involved to avoid
exacerbating the situation.

While similar statements by the US at a meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam last year led to a harsh reply from China, this time around Chinese Minister Yang Jiechi only acknowledged that there were overlapping claims that needed to be settled.

He said China never caused problems along the transportation lanes that cross the sea, a statement seemingly aimed at countering the US’ reasons to be involved in the dispute.

China also stated earlier that its willingness to create guidelines on conduct in the South China Sea also showed that it intended to avoid using force and would apply peaceful means to solve the problem.

China, Taiwan, and four ASEAN member states — the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam — all claim territory in the South China Sea, while Washington has irritated Beijing by declaring it also has a national interest at stake in ensuring the freedom of navigation and trade.

China’s claim is the largest and Beijing says it has had undisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea since ancient times.

The US also touched on two issues — Myanmar and the denuclearization of North Korea — that could irk China.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said South Korean foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan held an informal meeting with his North Korean counterpart, Pak Ui-chun, before the plenary session of the security forum after senior officials from both countries met Friday.

Clinton said Pyongyang had to improve ties with its neighbor and demonstrate good behavior before six-party talks on its nuclear program could resume.

Marty said the ARF provided a climate conducive for such a development.

“This is yet more evidences that an ASEAN gathering can facilitate possibilities for countries to be able to work out political conditions and problems among themselves,” he said at a press conference after the meeting.

Clinton also called on Myanmar to do more to speed up the processes of democratization and reconciliation.