US proposes to "freeze" the East Sea, China protests

At the ASEAN Forum, US Secretary of State John Kerry will push for a “freeze” of disputed areas in the East Sea, despite China’s insistence that it can do whatever it wants.

US Secretary of State John Kerry

Reuters reported that Mr. Kerry's top priority at the upcoming ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) is to reduce tensions in the East Sea by promoting a "freeze" of activities in disputed areas of the East Sea.

US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia Daniel Russel affirmed: "This economic region plays an extremely important and very fragile role. Therefore, no country should use threats of military or paramilitary force to retaliate, intimidate, or coerce."

“The claimant countries will be able to take some voluntary steps and also identify activities that they are concerned about, and if everyone agrees, those activities should be eliminated,” he said.

These steps may include compliance with an agreement not to occupy vacant land or, more importantly, a temporary moratorium on land reclamation efforts.

On August 4, China, which also attended the ARF, opposed the "freeze" proposal and affirmed that it will continue to build what it wants on the islands in the East Sea.

Mr. Yi Xianliang, Deputy Director of the Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, firmly said: "What China does or does not do is up to the Chinese government to decide." He also said that the above proposal would hinder the efforts of China and ASEAN to move towards a code of conduct in the East Sea.

He insisted that if the US made such a proposal, he would not agree and that in any case the East Sea was a matter for the countries directly involved.

The Philippines also said it would propose a freeze as well as push for a code of conduct and arbitration to resolve disputes at the ARF.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said on August 4 that Manila had won support from Vietnam, Indonesia and Brunei for an immediate halt to activities in disputed areas of the South China Sea and the implementation of a declaration of conduct in the region.

According to soha.vn