US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday urged rival claimants
to the East Sea not to resort to threats and intimidation in the potentially
oil-rich waters, an indirect reference to China at the start of a regional
meeting.
Clinton said the United States
wanted talks involving all parties to resolve the dispute, a stance likely to
upset China, which has sought a bilateral approach to addressing rival claims
to the waters, a potential military flashpoint.
"We believe the nations of
the region should work collaboratively and diplomatically to resolve disputes
without coercion, without intimidation, without threats, and without use of
force," Clinton told the East Asia Summit meeting in Phnom Penh, according
to a text released by the State Department.
"Issues such as freedom of
navigation and lawful exploitation of maritime resources often involve a wide
region, and approaching them strictly bilaterally could be a recipe for
confusion and even confrontation," Clinton added.
Beijing claims the East Sea as
its territory based on historical records and has said China has
"indisputable sovereignty" over the area, where are claimed by five
other countries.
The Philippines and China only
recently stepped back from a months-long standoff at the Scarborough Shoal, a
horseshoe shaped reef in waters they both claim.
The United States has stressed it
is neutral in the long-running maritime dispute, despite offering to help boost
the Philippines' decrepit military forces. China has warned that "external
forces" should not get involved.
Proven and undiscovered oil
reserve estimates in the East Sea range as high as 213 billion barrels of oil,
the US Energy Information Administration said in a 2008 report. That would
surpass every country's except Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, according to the BP
Statistical Review.
US President Barack Obama has
sought to reassure regional allies that Washington would serve as a counterbalance
to a newly assertive China in the East Sea, part of his campaign to
"pivot" US foreign policy more intensely on Asia after a decade of
war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“Calamity”
The United States says stability
is its concern in the waterway, which carries US$5 trillion in ship-borne
trade, accounting for half the world's shipping tonnage. Several countries are
seeking a maritime code of conduct for the seas.
"The United States is going
to be very clear in our determination to see progress on the code of conduct
between those negotiations that are taking place between China and ASEAN,"
a senior US State Department official told reporters earlier this week.
Foreign ministers from the
10-state Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc have been joined
in Phnom Penh by their counterparts from China, the United States and the
European Union.
Before going into a meeting with
Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on Thursday, Clinton told reporters the
two superpowers would work together to find common ground to ensure proper
handling of sensitive issues in Asia.
China has sought to keep the
disputes out of the five days of ASEAN meetings, offering a mix of conciliatory
words while ramping up the rhetoric in Beijing.
A commentary in Tuesday's overseas
edition of the Communist Party mouthpiece, the People's Daily, said efforts by
Vietnam and the Philippines to tackle the issue in Phnom Penh were tantamount
to "international kidnapping" and warned of "calamity".
The United States has found
itself caught up in the dispute as a consequence of recent announcements of
military cooperation deals with Vietnam and the Philippines.
Clinton's sweep though Asia,
which included visits to Mongolia, Laos and Vietnam, comes just weeks after
Washington announced plans to dramatically reshape its relations in the region.
The US moves are seen as a veiled attempt to counter China's influence in the
region.
Reuters
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