Add CategoryTHE United States has called for an “immediate and lasting halt†to reclamation works in disputed waters in the South China Sea, saying Beijing’s behaviour in the area was “out of step†with international norms.
“First, we want a peaceful resolution of all disputes. To that end, there should be an immediate and lasting halt to land reclamation by all claimants,†US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter told a high-level security conference in Singapore on Saturday.
“We also oppose any further militarisation of disputed features,†he said, stressing that US forces would continue entering what he called international waters and airspace in the tense region.
Carter added that “with its actions in the South China Sea, China is out of step with both the international rules and normsâ€.
Ashton Carter delivers his speech about "The United States and Challenges to Asia-Pacific Security" during the Asia Security Summit on Saturday. AP Source: AP
“Yet, one country has gone much farther and much faster than any other. “And that’s China. China has reclaimed over 2,000 acres, more than all other claimants combined and more than in the entire history of the region. And China did so in only the last 18 months,†Carter said.
“It is unclear how much farther China will go. That is why this stretch of water has become the source of tension in the region and front-page news around the world.†Last week the Chinese military ordered a US Navy P-8 Poseidon surveillance aircraft to leave an area above the heavily disputed Spratly Islands. But the American plane ignored the demand.
Photos by satellite-imagery provider DigitalGlobe shows what is believed to be Chinese vessels dredging sand at Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. AFP Source: Supplied
Chinese Navy missile frigate fires rounds during a military exercise in the South China Sea. Source: AP
“America, alongside its allies and partners in the regional architecture, will not be deterred from exercising these rights -- the rights of all nations. After all, turning an underwater rock into an airfield simply does not afford the rights of sovereignty or permit restrictions on international air or maritime transit.†Beijing has defended its dredging work in the contested waters and accused Washington of singling out China over an activity that other countries in the region are also engaged in.
China insists it has sovereignty over nearly all of the South China Sea, a major global shipping route which is believed to be home to a wealth of oil and gas reserves.
The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei also claim parts of the sea.
As China builds up artificial islands in the South China Sea, the U.S. is weighing its options on how to rein in Beijing's territorial ambitions. WSJ national security reporter Adam Entous explains. Photo: AP