U.S. Urges ASEAN, China to Negotiate Rules to Resolve Disputes
By Phillip Kurata
Staff Writer
Washington - Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton has called on China
and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to negotiate a code of
conduct to resolve disputes in the South China Sea.
"No nation can fail to be concerned by the increase in tensions, the uptick
in confrontational rhetoric and disagreements over resource exploitation. We
have seen worrisome instances of economic coercion and the problematic use of
military and government vessels in connection with disputes among fishermen,"
Clinton said to reporters in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, July 12.
She was in the Cambodian capital representing the United States at the
10-nation ASEAN ministerial conference that also drew foreign ministers from
Japan, South Korea and China and representatives from other countries and
regions with strong ties to Southeast Asia. The ASEAN members are Brunei, Burma,
Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and
Vietnam.
Clinton said the United States has a fundamental interest in the freedom of
navigation, the maintenance of peace and stability, respect for international
law and unimpeded, lawful commerce in the South China Sea. "We believe the
nations of the region should work collaboratively and diplomatically to resolve
disputes without coercion, without intimidation, without threats and certainly
without the use of force," Clinton said.
The secretary acknowledged that the ASEAN and Chinese foreign ministers
were having difficulty reaching agreement on the wording of the final communiqué
because of the South China Sea disputes. She said that the fact that they were
addressing the issue was a sign of maturity.
"They're not ducking them; they're walking right into them," Clinton
said.
On the sideline of the ASEAN conference, Clinton met with Chinese Foreign
Minister Yang Jiechi to strengthen various aspects of the U.S.-China
relationship, such as science and technology, energy and the environment, and
public health and safety. "We are committed to working with China within a
framework that fosters cooperation where interests align and manages differences
where they do not," Clinton said.
Her meetings with counterparts from Japan, South Korea and the European
Union gave her "a chance to compare notes" on how each is stepping up its
engagement with the region. She said the United States is launching a new effort
to reform and reinvigorate its assistance to ASEAN known as the Asia Pacific
Strategic Engagement Initiative.
The initiative will deal with six elements: regional security cooperation,
economic integration and trade, engagement in the Lower Mekong region,
transnational threats, democratic development and war legacies.
"This adds up to a robust, systematic assistance package that will secure
sustained levels of American support for the things we all care most about," she
said in her remarks at the ministerial meeting July 11.
Clinton told reporters that the United States is easing sanctions on Burma
to allow American businesses to invest there while keeping in place the U.S.
arms embargo and the ban on contacts between U.S. businesses and the Burmese
military.
(This is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs,
U.S. Department of State.)
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