No joint declaration at Asia defence meet
Divisions over China�s claims in the disputed South China Sea
AP
AP, Kuala Lumpur: Divisions within Asia over Chinas claims in the disputed South China Sea spilled over Wednesday to a meeting of US and Asian defence ministers, where China insisted the group make no public mention of the strategic waters in a joint declaration intended as a public display of unity.
As a result, a joint statement was cancelled, said Malaysian Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, reflecting a split with China and perhaps other Asian nations over citing the South China Sea issue.
What we sign on the joint declaration is not going to resolve the issue of duplicating claims nor is it going to wish vessels that are in the South China Sea away, Hishammuddin told a news conference while trying to downplay the dispute at the meeting. To dwell on the joint declaration is not going to solve the real problem. Our concerns are more real ... unintended accidents at the high sea, which can spiral into something worse and that we must avoid.
Hishammuddin said that the Southeast Asian grouping will continue to engage China and the US to ensure peace and stability in the region.
Singapore Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said that the dispute over the joint declaration was due to differences in phrasing and interpretation. But he said all countries agreed on the freedom of navigation and all countries accepted international laws and norms.
In a statement issued by the host country, Malaysia said the meeting noted the importance of the early conclusion of the code of conduct in the South China Sea - a set of rules meant to govern behaviour in the disputed waters - in order to build mutual trust and confidence, and maintain peace, security and stability in the region. China has so far dragged its feet in concluding discussions on the code of conduct.
A senior American official travelling with Defence Secretary Ash Carter said that China, which like the United States is not a member of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations but was attending the defence ministers meeting as an invited partner, was adamant that the meetings final public statement omit any mention of the South China Sea. The Americans argued that it would be better to make no joint statement at all rather than issue one that omitted mention of the contentious South China Sea issue.
Carter was expected to hold a news conference later Wednesday.
He also plans to go aboard the US Navy aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt on Thursday as it transits the South China Sea off the Malaysian coast, a senior US Official said. Carter plans to bring his Malaysian counterpart with him, said the official, who was not authorized to discuss the plan and so spoke on condition of anonymity.
Chinas claims in the South China Sea are disputed by several countries in the region, including Malaysia.
It was not clear what Carter or other attendees wanted the meetings final public statement to say about the South China Sea, which is a highly trafficked waterway with longstanding territorial disputes.
Carter met with his Chinese counterpart, Chang Wanquan on Tuesday evening, and US officials said afterward that Chang repeated the Chinese governments earlier criticism of US naval movements in the South China Sea. They said he called the US actions provocative and illegal, but they also said the exchanges between Carter and Chang were cordial.
