Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday called on the Philippines and members of the Association of South East Asian Nations to unite and stand together in resisting intervention of " non-regional forces" in the South China Sea disputes. Current top breaking Philippine headlines…
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday called on the Philippines and members of the Association of South East Asian Nations to unite and stand together in resisting intervention of “non-regional forces“ in the South China Sea disputes. Without naming any country, Wang, who is on an official visit to Manila, warned that some forces are out to destabilize the situation in the area where he said tensions have deescalated in recent months. “If there are still non-regional forces in the region, they don’ t want to see stability in the South China Sea and they still want to stir up trouble in the South China Sea, we need to stand together and we need to say no to them together, ” Wang said at a joint news conference with Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano after their bilateral meeting. Defying China’s warnings to keep out of the disputes, US military vessels, in a direct challenge to what it calls Beijing’s excessive claims in the waters, have repeatedly sailed within 12 nautical mile zones on features unilaterally expanded by China, prompting angry protests from Beijing. US planes have also flew over the Chinese-controlled areas. Last week, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop openly criticized China’s island-building in the South China Sea and urged all claimants to respect international law. China, which considers the sea disputes a purely Asian issue, is opposed to any foreign intervention, particularly from the US, accusing Washington of military intervention.
