US pleads for 'good neighbourliness' in Asia

[Krueger]

5 Feb 2014

The United States on Tuesday called on Japan, South Korea and China to find ways to work together, saying it was in the interest of all three to overcome historical animosity.

File photo of Air force lieutenant-general Liu Shou-Jen introducing a map of Air Defence Identification Zone in the East China Sea during a press conference in Taipei on December 2, 2013. (AFP/Mandy Cheng)

WASHINGTON: The United States on Tuesday called on Japan, South Korea and China to find ways to work together, saying it was in the interest of all three to overcome historical animosity.

Danny Russel, the assistant secretary of state for East Asia, said he held "candid" talks on growing tensions during recent stops in Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo.

"There are multiple perspectives, but one thing is certain - none of the problems, none of these tensions, can be solved by any one party alone," Russel told reporters.

"Frankly, we look to each of our friends and partners in the Asia-Pacific region to make a contribution to good relations and to good neighbourliness," he said.

Russel said that Japan and South Korea, both US allies and democracies, had shared values that should "serve as the foundation for long-term trust." He said that China and Japan, as Asia's two largest economies, "can and must work together" in the interests of their citizens.

In the latest row tied to historical disputes, Japan instructed education chiefs to teach children that islands contested with South Korea and China unequivocally belong to Tokyo. South Korea immediately protested.

In December, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, known for his nationalist views, paid a pilgrimage to the Yasukuni shrine which honors war dead including convicted war criminals. South Korea and China voiced anger at the shrine visit, which also prompted rare US criticism of Japan's leadership.

Tensions soared in the region in November when China declared an Air Defense Identification Zone over a vast part of the East China Sea, requiring pilots to report to Beijing when flying over islands administered by Japan.

Russel reiterated US warnings to China not to create a similar zone in the South China Sea, where Beijing has disputes with the Philippines, Vietnam and other countries.

"We have made clear that we urge China not to attempt to implement the ADIZ and certainly not to replicate it in other sensitive areas, including and particularly in the South China Sea," he said.

After China's move, the United States, Japan and South Korea all defied Beijing by flying military planes through its declared zone.

- AFP/de

 

[Krueger]

6 February 2014

US presses Beijing over SCS dispute

Chinese fishery ships patrol the disputed waters in the South China Sea

A top US diplomat has called on China to clarify or adjust its territorial claims in the South China Sea in accordance with international law.

Daniel Russel, assistant secretary of state for East Asia, criticised Beijing's so-called "nine-dash line" that outlines its claims.

Analysts say his remarks indicate an increasing US stance in the region.

Tensions are already high over China's imposition of an air defence zone above disputed islands in the East China Sea.

Correspondents say there are fears of a fresh showdown in the South China Sea where six countries claim competing sovereignty over areas believed to contain huge deposits of oil and gas.

Along with China, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan all have claims in the region.

"Any Chinese claim to maritime rights not based on claimed land features would be inconsistent with international law," Mr Russel told a congressional committee.

"China could highlight its respect for international law by clarifying or adjusting its claim to bring it into accordance with international law of the sea," he said.

Mr Russel said he supported the Philippines' right to take its case to a UN tribunal as part of efforts to find a "peaceful, non-coercive" solution.

China denounced the move last year.

"China's lack of clarity with regard to its South China Sea claims has created uncertainty in the region and limits the prospect for achieving mutually agreeable resolution or equitable joint development arrangements," Mr Russel added.

On Wednesday, China's state news agency branded Philippine President Benigno Aquino a "disgrace" for comments in connection with the territorial row in which he compared China to Nazi Germany.

Mr Aquino called for world leaders not to appease China over its claims in the South China Sea in the same way nations tried to appease Hitler before World War Two.

An angry commentary on the state-run Xinhua news agency branded Mr Aquino an "amateurish politician who was ignorant both of history and reality".

China's "nine-dash line" stretches hundreds of miles south and east from its most southerly province of Hainan.

Beijing says its rights come from 2,000 years of history where the Paracel and Spratly island chains were regarded as part of the Chinese nation.

More than half the world's merchant goods are shipped through the South China Sea and in 2010, then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared that freedom of navigation there was a US national interest.

Relations between China and Japan are currently under strain over a separate territorial row involving islands in the East China Sea known as the Senkaku islands in Japan and the Diaoyu islands in China.

BBC News - US presses Beijing over SCS dispute