Kerry Presses China to Abide by Maritime Laws to Ease Tensions
By
JANE PERLEZJULY 9, 2014
Photo
Secretary of State John Kerry spoke with Yang Jiechi, a state councilor who deals with foreign policy, on Wednesday in Beijing. Credit Pool photo by Jim Bourg
BEIJING — In a closed-door session at a high-level gathering of Chinese and American officials here on Wednesday, Secretary of State John Kerry urged China to follow maritime law in nearby seas to reduce regional tensions, a senior American official said.
Mr. Kerry called on China to support the creation of a legally binding code of conduct that other Asian nations are considering to enforce rules of navigation and inhibit unilateral actions in the South China and East China Seas, said the official, who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity under standard protocol.
The secretary met with Yang Jiechi, a state councilor who deals with foreign policy, on the first day of the Strategic and Economic Dialogue, an annual gathering of senior officials from both countries where differences on issues including national security, the economy, climate change and human rights are aired.
“The secretary emphasized this is not a situation in which countries should or can be permitted simply to act unilaterally to advance their territorial claims or interests,” said the official, alluding to China’s dispatch of a huge oil rig to disputed waters off the coast of Vietnam in May and the virtual takeover in 2012 of a reef, the Scarborough Shoal, that is claimed by the Philippines.
Map
Territorial Disputes in the Waters Near China
China has recently increased its pursuit of territorial claims in nearby seas, leading to tense exchanges with neighboring countries. A map of some of the most notable disputes.

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Mr. Kerry also said efforts to create a “new status quo” at the expense of regional harmony were “unacceptable,” the official said.
Maneuvers by China to assert claims over islands and waters in the South China Sea, and to slow the efforts of a regional group, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, to complete a code of conduct that would govern maritime rules have become a major point of friction between Washington and Beijing. The South China Sea is one of the world’s busiest trading routes.
President Xi Jinping opened the two-day event, saying a solid relationship between China and the United States was vital for everyone. “Cooperation between China and the U.S. will benefit the world, while the opposite will bring disaster,” Mr. Xi said.
He also stressed China’s economic and military strength. “The vast Pacific Ocean has ample space to accommodate two great nations,” he said, a comment suggesting that America’s domination of the Asia-Pacific region over the last 60 years will not last.
At his meeting with Mr. Yang, a diplomat known for his frank demeanor, Mr. Kerry set out Washington’s objections to China’s policies on several fronts and defended America’s alliances in Asia, arrangements that have come under stiff criticism from Beijing, the official said.
The secretary discussed China’s deteriorating human rights record, citing specific cases of people imprisoned for many years, as well as those jailed in the last few months during a crackdown on lawyers and journalists, the official said. “In particular, he described our perception of the trend of an increase in arrests and harassment of individuals expressing political views,” the official said.
China declined to hold a human rights dialogue with the United States this year, apparently in retribution for President Obama’s
meeting in February with the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader who promotes autonomy from China.
The suspension of the human rights discussion came despite meetings in recent years between Chinese and American officials led by the assistant secretary of state for human rights to discuss human rights and religious persecution in China.
Mr. Kerry called for the human rights talks to resume, the official said. Similarly, he asked that China agree to continue formal talks on cybersecurity that China suspended in May after the indictment of five members of the People’s Liberation Army by a United States grand jury on charges of cyberespionage.
The American special envoy on climate change, Todd Stern, met with his Chinese counterpart, Xie Zhenhua, vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission and a powerful figure in the Chinese bureaucracy. “We are making a great effort on our internal reasoning so we can make due contributions to climate change,” Mr. Xie said.
While there was no breakthrough agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, American officials said they detected more determination by the Chinese to curb pollution, which has become so bad that some Chinese leaders see it as a possible cause of political instability.