A joint statement released by the White House about Obama’s meeting with the leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) said the South China Sea was among several issues discussed.
It said they had agreed on “the importance of peaceful resolution of disputes, freedom of navigation, regional stability, and respect for international law, including in the South China Sea.”
US President Barack Obama poses for a group picture with the leaders of Asean nations on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York
Obama had brought up the issue with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao yesterday during talks on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
Washington has criticised Chinese claims to swathes of the South China Sea, where Taiwan and several Asean members including Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines also assert sovereignty.
China says it has sovereignty over the seas, home to valuable fishing grounds and largely unexploited oil and natural gas fields.
It reacted with anger in July when the United States brought up the issue at a regional meeting, further souring ties between Beijing and Washington already strained by spats over the value of the Chinese currency, Tibet and Taiwan.
While there have been no military clashes in the seas for years, China and some of the other claimants have been building up their military presence in the region.
Separately, Obama and the Asian leaders also called on Myanmar to “embark on a process of national reconciliation by releasing all political prisoners,” including Aung San Suu Kyi, and by holding free and fair elections in November.
Rights groups have derided the elections as a sham designed to entrench military power in the isolated but resource-rich Southeast Asian state.
0 comments:
Post a Comment