Minister urges US to brush up on history
Print Edition
THE United States needs to brush up on the history of the South China Sea, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said during his visit to Australia.
World War II-related agreements mandated that all Chinese territories taken by Japan had to be returned to China, Wang said.
In his Senate confirmation hearing, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said China should not be allowed access to islands it has built there. The White House also vowed to defend “international territories” in the strategic waterway.
However, last week US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis suggested that diplomacy should be the priority in the South China Sea.
In comments carried on the foreign ministry’s website late on Tuesday, Wang said he had a “suggestion” for his American friends. “Brush up on the history of World War II,” Wang was quoted as saying during a visit to Canberra.
The 1943 Cairo Declaration and 1945 Potsdam Declaration clearly state that Japan had to return to China all Chinese territory taken by Japan, Wang said.
“This includes the Nansha Islands,” he added.
“In 1946, the then Chinese government, with help from the United States, openly and in accordance with the law took back the Nansha Islands and reefs that Japan had occupied, and resumed exercising sovereignty,” Wang said.
“Afterwards, certain countries around China used illegal methods to occupy some of the Nansha islands and reefs, and it’s this that created the so-called South China Sea dispute.”
China is committed to having talks with the parties directly involved and, in accordance with historical facts and international law, to peacefully resolve the issue, Wang said. That position will not change, he added.
Countries outside the region should support the efforts of China and others in the region to maintain the peace and stability of the South China Sea, and not do the opposite, he added.
China sets great store on Mattis’s comments stressing diplomatic efforts in the South China Sea, as this is not only the position set by China and Southeast Asia but also the “correct choice” for countries outside the region, Wang said.
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