South China Sea fears linger despite Beijing’s loan and aid pledges at East Asia Summit
China pledges aid and finance for region but concerns over disputed waterways persist
China used both carrots and sticks at a regional summit over the weekend, promising US$10 billion in loans for infrastructure in Southeast Asia while maintaining that work on its South China Sea reclamation projects would continue.
The sweeteners, however, failed to erase concerns over escalating tensions in the busy waterways at the weekend summit between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and eight other countries.
Wrapping up the East Asia Summit, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said several countries raised concerns about land reclamation. “There were great concerns expressed by certain countries in respect to what has been done,” he said. A summit joint statement had not been released as of 11pm on Sunday.
There were great concerns expressed by certain countries in respect to what has been done
On top of the infrastructure loans, Beijing would give US$560 million in aid to underdeveloped Asean states next year, Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin said on Sunday.
Beijing has boosted economic cooperation in the region to try to repair ties frayed by the South China Sea disputes, which pit China against claimants such as the Philippines and Vietnam.
But tensions have risen in the past two years as China has turned several reefs in the disputed Spratlys into artificial islets. US President Barack Obama said China should stop construction and militarisation of the islets. He also said the 10 Asean leaders had accepted his invitation to visit the US next year.
Read more: Asean leaders raise concerns about South China Sea island-building as China tries to keep it off the table
Premier Li Keqiang told the summit that external parties should refrain from provocation.
Liu said yesterday that China would carry on building facilities on the islands over the next few years. “Those islands and reefs are far from China’s mainland so it is necessary to build and maintain military facilities. This is necessary for China’s national defence and to protect those islands and reefs,” Liu said.
He described the US decision to send a naval ship to waters within 12 nautical miles of the disputed Subi island, which has been reclaimed from a submerged reef, as provocation.
Philippine President Benigno Aquino said the world would be watching whether China would behave as a responsible power over how it handled an arbitration case brought by Manila before an international court.
The foreign and defence ministers of Japan and Australia also said they opposed “coercive or unilateral actions” in the South China Sea.
In a potential blow to China’s efforts to expand its economic clout in the region, talks on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership will drag on despite China’s hope that they would wrap up this year.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse, Kyodo
