US to raise South China Sea issue anew with China

WASHINGTON – The United States will once again bring up the South China Sea disputes in talks with China and emphasize the need to resolve them in accordance with international law, specifically the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea or UNCLOS.

On the eve of the US-China Diplomatic and Security Dialogue in Washington, acting Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Susan Thornton said the US believes that it’s very important to ensure that these disputes are resolved peacefully and in accordance with international law.

Thornton said North Korea will be the top priority in the US-China talks, coming on the heels of  the death of American student Otto Warmbier just days after North Korea released him from detention in a coma.

The US is pressing China to persuade North Korea to stop its nuclear tests and missile launches to ease tension in the Korean Peninsula.

“We remain committed to a policy that aims to expand cooperation with China where it’s possible and also to narrow our differences on key issues,” Thornton said.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has commented on US concerns over China’s island-building in the South China Sea and the growing militarization in the area.

Thornton said all parties should freeze any construction on land features in the South China Sea and make room for diplomacy.         

In an annual report to Congress titled “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China 2017,” the US Defense Department said Chinese leaders seem committed to increases in defense spending for the foreseeable future, even as China’s economic growth slows.

The report said China’s actions in the South China Sea last year, particularly its construction of airfields and other infrastructure on features in the Spratly Islands, enhanced China’s ability to control disputed areas in the South China Sea.

China will be able to use its reclaimed features as civil-military bases to enhance its presence in the South China Sea and improve China’s ability to control the features and nearby maritime space.

Tillerson and Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis will represent the US at the talks while China will be represented by State Councilor Yang Jiechi and the People’s Liberation Army Chief of the General Staff Gen. Fang Fenghui.

The diplomatic and security dialogue was established under a broad framework of a comprehensive mechanism established in April following a meeting between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping.