Anifah: No need for confrontation

KUALA LUMPUR: Asean will not be confrontational in dealing with China on the South China Sea territorial claims and will continue to explore every avenue to find a solution that will benefit all parties, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman said.

He said Malaysia, as current chair of Asean, would deliver the message to China that discussions must continue to resolve the spat.

“We will discuss with China. Asean won’t like to be given ultimatum, similarly China too,” Anifah told a media conference after chairing the Asean foreign ministers meeting here yesterday.

Anifah was asked on Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario’s warning at the ministers meeting that Beijing was poised to take “de facto control” of the South China Sea.

Describing it as Manila’s prerogative to issue statements, Anifah said all 10 Asean member nations were concerned with the issue and wanted it resolved.

“China is very important to Asean and we are important to them. No need for confrontation that won’t bring any benefit to any party. It is not going to affect only the Philippines, but Asean as a whole,” he added.

Del Rosario alleged a campaign of land reclamations on disputed reefs had raised the spectre of permanent Chinese bases far out in the ocean.

“The threats posed by these massive reclamations are real and cannot be ignored or denied,” he said.

Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Brunei are claiming parts of the strategic South China Sea, together with Taiwan, but China is claiming nearly all of it and its increasingly strident assertions of its territorial ambitions have caused concern in the region and beyond.

The Philippines and Vietnam have repeatedly been involved in tense territorial confrontations with China at sea, and have offered the harshest criticism.

Del Rosario said if Asean did nothing, it would undermine Asean’s centrality, solidarity and credibility.

“Asean should assert its leadership. Asean must show the world it has resolved to act in the common interest.

“Is it not time for Asean to finally stand for what is right?” he said.

Asean secretary-general Le Luong Minh in an interview with The Star said recent activities by a number of countries, including China, in the South China Sea, ran counter to the principle of self-restraint and posed a challenge to Asean’s bid to defuse the row.

While not singling any particular country, he agreed that the recent developments which include reports of land reclamations by China, was a source of concern for the regional body.

He noted that Asean and China had, in 2002, agreed to a Declaration of Conduct (DoC) which, among others, called for self-restraint.

“China and Asean have had the DoC for 13 years, but sometimes there have been complicated and dangerous developments happening at sea.

“There is a very important provision in the DoC which is not to change the status quo and I think the situation now at sea is contrary to the spirit of Article 5 of the DoC and that is a concern,” Minh added.

China and Asean members – Ma­­lay­sia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Brunei – agreed in 2002 on the DoC, a document which among others reaffirmed the parties’ commitment to international law.

Article 5 of the DoC states that the parties in the dispute would exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities that could complicate or escalate disputes and affect peace and stability.

Other principles which the DoC emphasises on are respect for national laws, respect for the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, peaceful solution of disputes, and non-use of force.

In 2002, the claimant countries also started work to draw up an official and binding Code of Conduct (CoC) to further promote peace and stability.

Minh described the recent deve­lopments in the disputed area as being dangerous and complicated, posing a challenge for the regional body as it tries to resolve the row.

“What is urgent is for Asean to engage China in a more substantive discussion on the elements of the CoC to overcome this challenge as there has been a widening gap between the diplomatic track and the actual condition at sea,” Minh said.

He added that Asean had so far engaged China in a number of consultations at the senior officials level and agreed on certain measures such as the establishment of a hotline.

Minh expressed optimism that Malaysia, as this year’s chair of Asean, would be able to help expedite the creation of the CoC.

“I am confident that Malaysia will help accelerate the process of the CoC, which must be a legally bin­ding instrument capable of not just preventing, but managing the complex and dangerous developments at sea,” Minh added.