Top navy officer takes firm line on dispute

Beijing will not accept South China Sea issue descending into chaos, forum told

Beijing will not sit by and see several countries throwing the South China Sea into chaos, the head of China's delegation to a high-profile intergovernmental security forum said on June 5.

Admiral Sun Jianguo, speaking in a raised voice, made the comments at a plenary session of the annual Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, attended by defense chiefs and experts from around the world.

But Sun, deputy chief of the Joint Staff Department at the Central Military Commission, spoke in a lower voice to say he believes that other parties involved have "wisdom and patience" - like China - in charting "a path of peaceful negotiation".

Elaborating on this, Sun said: "Countries that are not involved are not expected to act out of selfish interests and deliberately damage this path."

The different tones used by Sun reflect China's attitudes toward players in the South China Sea issue, where tensions have increased after recent claims by the United States over "freedom of navigation" and an arbitration case brought by Manila against Beijing.

"The world today is undergoing historic changes as never before and the Asia-Pacific countries share good times and bad times together," Sun said in his speech.

During his stay in Singapore from June 3 to 5, Sun held 17 meetings with senior defense officials, including seven from the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. It was the second year he had represented China at the dialogue.

Major General Luo Yuan, a researcher at the Chinese People's Liberation Army Military Science Academy, says he had noticed that Southeast Asian defense officials had downplayed their stance on the South China Sea issue at the June 5 session and voiced hopes of securing stability.

"Sun's speech indicates China's sincerity in resolving disputes," Luo adds.

Vietnamese Deputy Minister of National Defense Nguyen Chi Vinh said at the session that Hanoi will continue to strengthen cooperation with China and other countries to build and consolidate confidence.

"We hope together that we will arrive at solutions that are acceptable to all," he said.

Zhang Junshe, a senior researcher at the PLA Naval Military Studies Research Institute, says the Vietnamese official's comments are a call to some of the other parties involved and show that China's policy proposals serve the interests of people of all nations.

At a session on June 4, US Defense Secretary Ash Carter outlined Washington's ambitions to increase alignment with allies in the region. He said China has embarked on a "Great Wall of self-isolation" when advancing its military presence in the South China Sea.

Carter also said the arbitration case is "an opportunity for China and the rest of the region".

In an indirect response, Sun later said that some country "supports its allies in confronting China and pressuring China to accept and fulfill the ruling by the arbitration court".

zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 06/10/2016 page15)