T

he decades-old South China Sea (SCS) issue, North Korea and terrorism were the main focus of this year’s Shnagri-La Dialogue, which ended on Sunday. Primary SCS claimants — China and Vietnam — strongly defended their claims, while the US stepped up pressure on China to stop what it says are illegal activities and militarization of the disputed waters.

Indonesia and other ASEAN countries called for a peaceful solution to the dispute and asked all claimant countries not to resort to provocative actions that escalated tensions in the region.

After receiving strong criticism from Vietnam, the US, Japan, India, France, UK, the Philippines and Australia, China reiterated its position that it respected international law but would strongly defend its sovereignty in the SCS at the gathering of global military chiefs and security analysts in Singapore.

“We do not make trouble, but we have no fear of trouble. China will not bear the consequences, nor will it allow any infringement on its sovereignty and security interests, or stay indifferent to some countries creating chaos in the South China Sea.” the head of the Chinese delegation Adm. Sun Jianguo said on Sunday.

Sun, the deputy chief of the Joint Staff Department of China’s Central Military Commission, was responding to the comments of US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter, who said on Saturday at the event that Beijing risked erecting a “Great Wall of self-isolation” through its expansive and unprecedented actions” in the disputed waters of the SCS.

“In the South China Sea, China has taken some expansive and unprecedented actions that have generated concerns about China’s strategic intentions. China’s actions in the South China Sea are isolating it, at a time when the entire region is coming together and networking. Unfortunately, if these actions continue, China could end up erecting a Great Wall of self-isolation,” Carter said.

The US, which is not an SCS claimant country and has so far not taken sides in the dispute, sent a strong signal that it would remain a guarantor of regional security.

“But the United States will stand with regional partners to uphold core principles, like freedom of navigation and overflight, and the peaceful resolution of disputes through legal means and in accordance with international law,”
Carter added.

Vietnam, the second-largest SCS claimant after China, said in the same plenary session in which Sun spoke, that Hanoi called for the issue to be resolved in accordance with international law such as the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) as well as peaceful regional-level negotiation between ASEAN and China.

Vinh fired shots at China by saying the latter’s acts of “unilateralism and coercion” in the SCS may lead to the militarization of the region.

“This development, if not addressed, is likely to lead to armed races, rivalry and unpredictable and disastrous consequences,” said Vinh in his speech on Saturday.