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China tries to reassure neighbors
AP, HANOI
From left to right, Indian Defense Minister
Shri A K Antony, Vietnamese Minister of Defense Phung Quang Thanh, Vietnamese
President Nguyen Minh Triet, Chinese Minister of National Defense Liang
Guanglie and US Secretary of Defense Robert
Gates pose for a group photo at the signing ceremony of the Adoption of Joint
Declaration of the first ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting Plus at the National
Convention Center in Hanoi yesterday.
Photo: REUTERS
China worked to calm nerves yesterday among Asian neighbors jittery over its
recent attempts to assert greater control over disputed waters, while the US
stressed its national interest in keeping those seas free for commerce.
US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said the US has a stake in the growing
number of disputes about ownership of Asian island chains and ship routes
through waters China claims.
¡§We have a national interest in freedom of navigation, in unimpeded economic
development and commerce and in respect for international law,¡¨ Gates told an
ASEAN defense ministers¡¦ forum in Hanoi.
The message was strong and the audience unmistakable, but Gates avoided a direct
confrontation with China. He never mentioned the country by name during a brief
address to the group, which included his Chinese counterpart, General Liang
Guanglie (±ç¥ú¯P).
Several Asian countries have expressed concern over increasingly aggressive
maritime moves by Beijing, including its response to a ship collision last month
off disputed islands ¡X known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyutai (³¨³½¥x) in Taiwan
and China ¡X that plunged relations between China and Japan to a five-year low.
China tried to ease tensions yesterday by reassuring its neighbors that it wants
to work together.
¡§China pursues a defense policy that is defensive in nature. China¡¦s defense
development is not aimed to challenge or threaten anyone, but to ensure its
security and promote international and regional peace and stability,¡¨ Liang said
in his speech to the forum. ¡§Security of a country relies not only on
self-defense capabilities, but also on mutual trust with others.¡¨
ASEAN defense ministers, along with their counterparts from the US, China,
Russia, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, India and South Korea attended the
meeting.
¡§The United States has always exercised our rights and supported the rights of
others to transit through, and operate in, international waters,¡¨ Gates said.
¡§This will not change, nor will our commitment to engage in activities and
exercises together with our allies and partners.¡¨
Meanwhile, a senior US defense official said in Hanoi yesterday that Beijing
appears to be adopting a slightly more conciliatory tone over territorial
disputes in the South China Sea, backing away from describing the area as part
of its ¡§core interests,¡¨ putting the issue on a par with Tibet or Taiwan.
¡§They now, at least in some of our interactions with them, appear to have backed
away somewhat from the ¡¥core interest¡¦ argument,¡¨ said the official, who spoke
on condition of anonymity.
Chinese leaders seem ¡§to be seeking to come up with other ways to articulate
their approach to these issues,¡¨ the official told reporters. ¡§It is probably
fair to conclude that there is some internal debate in Beijing about exactly how
they approach this set of issues.¡¨
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