South China Sea: Beijing ‘ready to work with Asean’, defence chief says

General Wei Fenghe made the remarks in a virtual meeting with his Southeast Asian counterparts

Beijing has been seeking to shore up ties with its neighbours as its rivalry with Washington intensifies

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General Wei Fenghe said China was ready to work with Southeast Asian nations “to build a closer community with a shared future”. Photo: AP

Published: 6:17pm, 10 Dec 2020Updated: 9:48pm, 10 Dec 2020

China’s defence minister pledged to work with Southeast Asian nations to safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea, ahead of talks with 17 regional counterparts, including from the US, on Thursday.

General Wei Fenghe made the remarks in a virtual meeting with defence chiefs from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on Wednesday, in an apparent bid to stabilise relations with China’s neighbours as its rivalry with the US intensifies over the disputed waters.

Beijing has been pushing to finalise negotiations with the 10 Asean members over a code of conduct in the South China Sea that began in 2002 but have stalled over China’s insistence that the US be excluded.

“China is ready to work with Asean to build a closer community with a shared future between the two sides,” Wei said in the talks on Wednesday, according to state news agency Xinhua.

Thursday’s meeting of Asean members and eight other nations was the first encounter between Wei and acting US Secretary of Defence Christopher Miller, who was appointed last month after President Donald Trump’s election defeat. Military cooperation, the coronavirus response and the South China Sea dispute were expected to dominate the talks, with defence officials from Japan, Australia, India and Russia also attending.

General Wei Fenghe is seen on screen during the virtual talks hosted by Vietnam on Thursday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Asean has gained prominence in Beijing’s diplomatic agenda this year, especially in the midst of intense competition for regional dominance between China and the US. Yang Jiechi, President Xi Jinping’s top foreign policy aide, said in Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily last week that shoring up ties with China’s neighbours would be a focus for post-pandemic diplomacy, along with managing relations with the US.