PLA admiral to make China’s case at security forum
Sun Jianguo to attend talks in Singapore, where South China Sea row is expected to dominate
China will send a senior military official to annual security talks in Singapore this weekend, a meeting which is expected to be dominated by disputes in the South China Sea.
Admiral Sun Jianguo, deputy chief of the Joint Staff Department of the People’s Liberation Army, would lead the delegation at the Shangri-La Dialogue, which runs from Friday to Sunday, the defence ministry said on Tuesday. Sun would deliver a speech and take part in bilateral and multilateral meetings with representatives from other countries, it said.
US Defence Secretary Ash Carter will also attend the gathering, according to William Choong, the forum’s senior fellow of Asia-Pacific security.
China hopes relations with Philippines can get ‘back on track’, amid tensions over claims in South China Sea
The event comes ahead of a ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration on a case brought by the Philippines that challenges the legality of China’s claims in the disputed waters. Choong said the issue would “generate much discussion and debate”.
Shi Yinhong, an expert on Sino-US relations at Beijing’s Renmin University, said China should expect a “siege” by the US and other Asian countries at the talks. The opposition would be more intense than last year when China had temporarily stopped land reclamation on reefs and atolls and had yet to build many military facilities.
“This year China has done a lot to increase military deployment in the South China Sea,” Shi said.
At the US Naval Academy last week, Carter criticised China’s interception of a US surveillance aircraft about two weeks ago in the region. His comments were seen by China as provocative, according to Ni Lexiong, a Shanghai-based military observer.