South China Morning Post
Advertisement
Advertisement
Japan
Get more with myNEWS
A personalised news feed of stories that matter to you
Learn more
US and Japanese combat aircraft fly in formation above both countries’ warships during joint military drills held in the Philippine Sea earlier this year. Photo: US Navy Handout
AsiaEast Asia

US envoy to Japan accuses China of threatening ‘the safety of our waterways’, saying ‘might does not make right’

  • Deputy Chief of Mission Raymond Greene made the remarks to the media in Tokyo ahead of a trilateral meeting of US, Japan and Philippines officials
  • The US is seeking to step up security ties with the two Asian nations to counter what Greene called China’s ‘increasingly hostile maritime actions’
Japan
Associated Press
Associated Pressin Tokyo
Why you can trust SCMP
A senior American diplomat in Tokyo has criticised China’s “increasingly hostile maritime actions” as a threat to the safety of waterways in the resource-rich Indo-Pacific, as the United States seeks to strengthen security cooperation with allies Japan and the Philippines.

US Deputy Chief of Mission Raymond Greene said on Tuesday that disregard for international law and heavy-handed actions by Beijing are aimed at increasing its control over the region. “Specifically, the increasingly hostile maritime actions by the People’s Republic of China threaten the safety of our waterways,” he said at a news conference ahead of a meeting of officials from the three countries.

“No one nation should be able to dominate Indo-Pacific waters through coercion and outright intimidation,” he said. “Might does not make right and we do not shy away from calling out Beijing’s provocative actions.”

US envoy Raymond Greene (centre) with Japanese vice-minister of defence Kimi Onoda (left) and Philippine envoy Robespierre Bolivar (right) in Tokyo on Tuesday. Photo: AP

He said China’s actions included militarisation of the East and South China Seas, harassment of foreign fishing and other vessels, and depletion of maritime resources and the environment.

China ranks second highest in military spending after the US and is rapidly modernising its forces. It says its military is purely for defence and to protect its sovereign rights.

Japan sees China as a regional security threat and worries about growing tensions surrounding self-ruled Taiwan, which Beijing views as a breakaway province. Tokyo also is concerned about increasing cooperation between China and Russia and their joint military activities around Japan, including joint firing drills off northern Japan over the weekend.

Kimi Onoda, a Japanese vice-minister of defence, told the news conference that Japan and the Philippines as maritime nations share security challenges, including attempts by other nations to single-handedly change the status quo in the South and East China Seas.

Robespierre L. Bolivar, chargé d’affaires at the Philippine Embassy, said promotion of cooperation among the three countries is important to help protect the Philippines’ maritime interests.

About 20 maritime security officials and experts from the three countries are to discuss maritime security cooperation at the two-day session.

36