‘Don’t threaten China’s security’
Print Edition
CHINA yesterday warned other countries against threatening its security in the South China Sea and said it will decide whether to declare an Air Defense Identification Zone in accordance with the level of threat.
“The ADIZ is not a Chinese invention, but rather that of some big powers. If our security were threatened, of course we have the right. It depends on our comprehensive judgment,” Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin told a press briefing in Beijing.
A white paper — “China Adheres to the Position of Settling Through Negotiation the Relevant Disputes Between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea” — has been published following a ruling in an arbitration case initiated by the Philippines that said China had no “historic title” over the sea.
“Do not turn the South China Sea into a cradle of war,” Liu said, describing the ruling by a tribunal in The Hague on Tuesday as waste paper.
Liu urged other countries not to “take the opportunity to threaten China,” and called on other countries to work with China to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea.
An air defense identification zone over the sea would give the Chinese military authority over foreign aircraft.
In 2013, China set up such a zone over disputed islands in the East China Sea, requiring all aircraft entering the area to notify Chinese authorities or be subject to “emergency military measures” if they disobeyed orders.
“Whether we need to set up one in the South China Sea depends on the level of threat we receive,” Liu said. “We hope other countries will not take the chance to blackmail China.”
China’s ambassador to the United States, Cui Tiankai, was even more blunt about the tribunal’s ruling.
“It will certainly intensify conflicts and even confrontation,” he said in Washington on Tuesday.
The ruling Communist Party’s flagship newspaper, the People’s Daily, said yesterday that China was prepared to take “all measures necessary” to protect its interests.
China justifies its sovereignty claims as it says it was the first to have discovered, named and exploited the sea. However, its claims overlap with those of the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei.
Liu said that settling disputes between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea through negotiation was the consistent policy of the Chinese government.
The South China Sea issue is not a problem between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Liu stressed, saying China would make joint efforts with ASEAN countries to resolve disputes through negotiation, manage disputes by making rules, and achieve mutually beneficial results by practical cooperation.
“We hope to work with countries surrounding the South China Sea, including ASEAN members, abide by the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, and maintain peace and stability as well as the freedom of navigation and overflight,” Liu said.
Liu said the five-member tribunal was neither an international tribunal nor an international court of justice under the UN framework, nor an international tribunal for the law of the sea or a permanent court of arbitration.
Thus, he said, it lacks authority and credibility, and its ruling is null and void.
He said China had made unremitting efforts to resolve the South China Sea issue in a peaceful manner, and had reached important consensus with successive Philippine governments on resolving disputes peacefully and promoting maritime practical cooperation.
The Philippines, under new President Rodrigo Duterte, declined to celebrate the tribunal’s ruling.
“We have to be magnanimous in victory,” Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay told reporters in Manila. “In very delicate matters like this you cannot be provocative in statements.”
Duterte has repeatedly said he wants to improve relations with China and that he would seek Chinese investment for major infrastructure projects such as a railway for the impoverished southern Philippines.
He is open to direct talks with China aimed at achieving a long-awaited code of conduct among rival claimants for the sea. China has long wanted to negotiate directly.
Commenting on the reaction of Duterte and his government, Liu said China stands ready to work with the new Philippine government, properly settle South China Sea disputes and bring bilateral ties back on the right track.
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