Asean nations react coolly to US navy commander's call for joint patrols in South China sea | South China Morning Post
The commander of the Japan-based US Navy Seventh Fleet has called on Southeast Asian nations to form a combined maritime force to patrol areas of the South China Sea where there are territorial tensions with China.
Analysts said the initiative signalled the renewed urgency of the United States to preserve its right of free passage through some of the world's most important sea lanes.
But despite China's accelerating reclamation works in the waters, the plan is unlikely to win support from most Southeast Asian countries given their business interests in the world's second-largest economy.
During the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition in Malaysia on Tuesday, Vice-Admiral Robert Thomas suggested that members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) could streamline maritime security and launch joint patrols.
"If Asean members were to take the lead in organising something along those lines, trust me, the US Seventh Fleet would be ready to support it," Thomas said at a discussion panel with navy chiefs from the region.
Thomas also said in January that Japan was welcome to extend air patrols by its Self-Defence Forces into the South China Sea, a disputed area that, in addition to hosting vital sea lanes, is believed to harbour extensive natural resources including petroleum and natural gas.
Vietnam, which claims certain parts of the waters, said yesterday that countries should refrain from unilateral use of force in the region .
"We agreed ... [to] exercise self-restraint and refrain from actions that may escalate tensions in the region, including the use of force to unilaterally change the status quo," Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said after a meeting with Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
The suggestion of joint patrols comes after China sped up reclamation projects on reefs in waters criss-crossed by claims from Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei, the Philippines and Malaysia.
DigitalGlobe, an American commercial vendor of satellite images, on Monday released photos of new construction, including landfills and structures resembling radar towers and gun emplacements.
The photos showed that China was turning Fiery Cross Reef, in the Spratly Islands 1,000km south of the mainland, into a naval and air force base, DigitalGlobe said. The reef is controlled by China but is also claimed by Vietnam, the Philippines and Taiwan. Some 200 Chinese troops are believed to be based there.
In response to Thomas' call for joint Asean patrols, a foreign ministry spokesman said on Wednesday that Beijing was committed to working towards regional stability.
"We hope the relevant countries in the region can come together with China," Hong Lei said. "We hope that countries outside the region maintain a neutral position, particularly on the issue of sovereignty."
Jia Qingguo , dean of the School of International Studies at Peking University, said: "The US has a keen interest in the South China Sea because it wants to preserve the right of free passage there."
China has accelerated construction within its so-called nine-dash line that stretches deep into the disputed waters, but is yet to clarify if the line is its territorial boundary.
"If China said it was, such claims to the waters would directly challenge the passage rights of the US and bilateral tensions would escalate," Jia said.
"China will not make its interpretation of the nine-dash line any less ambiguous in the near future, despite the US repeatedly calling for clarification."
Most Asean countries would not risk trade ties with China and join the patrols, said Shen Shishun , director of the department of Asia-Pacific security and cooperation at the China Institute of International Studies.
"Only countries whose territorial tensions with China have escalated recently - the Philippines and Vietnam - would like to see [joint patrols]," Shen said.