NEW YORK — The United States on Thursday called for cooler heads to prevail amid
regional tensions over disputed island chains, saying it was vital for the
world economy to preserve stability in Asia.
US Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton held a series of meetings with Asian leaders, including talks with
Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, and then separate discussions with the
foreign ministers of all countries belonging to the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The stakes are high with
simmering tensions between China and Japan over disputed islands in the East
China Sea, and a separate row over another archipelago in the South China Sea.
"I think it would be fair to
say that all Asian leaders understand that this is the cockpit of the global
economy," a senior State Department official said.
"With the United States
still recovering, with Europe in a profound slowdown... it is essential that we
maintain peace and stability in Asia," he added.
Tensions have escalated in the
South China Sea with the Philippines and Vietnam accusing China of stepping up
harassment of their fishermen and ships in a bid to exert Beijing's claims to
virtually all of the strategic waterway.
ASEAN foreign ministers in July
failed for the first time in the bloc's 45-year history to produce a joint
communique at annual talks amid divisions over whether to stand up to China
over the South China Sea row.
Brunei, which next year will
serve as the ASEAN chair, is one of six nations with various claims -- some of
them overlapping -- over the South China Sea, through which around half of the
world's commercial cargo is transported.
Clinton has pushed for ASEAN and
China to agree on a code of conduct that would manage disputes and prevent
incidents at sea from escalating into full-blown conflicts.
The State Department official
said ASEAN leaders had described initial talks with China as "important,
informal interactions. Positive. Still early phases, but I think initially
encouraging."
"The ASEANs are I think encouraged
by this beginning set of interactions with China. We want it to take shape and
go forward."
China is also embroiled in a
dispute with Japan over an archipelago in the East China Sea that Beijing knows
as the Diaoyu islands and Tokyo calls the Senkaku.
Chinese Foreign Minister Yang
Jiechi late Thursday accused Japan of stealing the disputed islands as he took
the bitter territorial dispute to the UN General Assembly.
"They can in no way change
the historical fact that Japan stole" the Diaoyu islands, Yang said in a
speech.
In Clinton's meeting earlier with
her Japanese counterpart Yang, she "again urged that cooler heads prevail.
That Japan and China engage in dialogue to calm the waters," another
senior State Department official said.
"We believe that Japan and
China have the resources, have the restraint, have the ability to work on this
directly and take tensions down. And that is our message to both sides."
On Thursday, China criticized
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda for his "obstinate
persistence" after he insisted there could be no compromise with Beijing
on the ownership of Diaoyu islands.
Noda had said on Wednesday that
the islands were "an integral part" of Japanese territory "in
the light of history and of international law."
Clinton and Yang met in a New
York hotel on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly and for what a US
official described as a "very full meeting."
They also talked about issues
concerning the South China Seas, North Korea, human rights in China and Tibet
and bilateral economic relations.
Yang met on Tuesday with his
Japanese counterpart Koichiro Gemba, holding what was described as "stern
talks" on the bitterly disputed islands but made no breakthrough,
diplomats said.
China has been infuriated by the
Japanese government's move to buy the East China Sea islands from a private
owner.
Japan and China have disputed the
islands for decades, but tensions flared again in recent weeks leading to
street protests in Chinese cities.
Chinese government ships have
sailed into waters around the disputed islands in recent days, along with
vessels from Taiwan, which also claims the islands.
Jo Biddle (AFP)
Business & Investment Opportunities
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Strategy, Investment and Management, focusing Healthcare and Life Science with expertise in ASEAN. Since we are currently changing the platform of www.yourvietnamexpert.com, you may contact us at: sbc.pte@gmail.com, provisionally. Many thanks.
No comments:
Post a Comment