Warships patrol in disputed seas ‘legitimate,’ says Chinese general

From the Daily Tribune (Jun 3): Warships patrol in disputed seas ‘legitimate,’ says Chinese general

Chinese warships will continue to patrol waters where Beijing has territorial claims, a top general yesterday said amid simmering rows with the Philippines and other neighboring countries over the South China Sea and islands controlled by Japan.

Lt. Gen. Qi Jianguo, deputy chief of the general staff of the People’s Liberation Army, defended the patrols as legitimate and said China’s sovereignty over the areas could not be disputed. “Why are Chinese warships patrolling in East China Sea and South China Sea? I think we are all clear about this,” Qi told the annual Shangri-La Dialog security conference in Singapore.

“Our attitude on East China Sea and South China Sea is that they are in our Chinese sovereignty. We are very clear about that,” he said through an interpreter.

“So the Chinese warships and the patrolling activities are totally legitimate and uncontroversial.”

Qi was responding to a question from a delegate after giving a speech in which he sought to assure neighboring countries that China has no hegemonic ambitions.

“China has never taken foreign expansion and military conquering as a state policy,” he said.

One delegate, however, said there appeared to be growing regional skepticism over China’s peaceful intentions because it was inconsistent with moves to send naval patrols to waters where other countries also have claims.

China is locked in a territorial dispute with the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam in the South China Sea.

The four states have partial claims to islands but China says it has sovereign rights to nearly all of the sea, including areas much closer to other countries and thousands of kilometers from the Chinese coast.

China also has a dispute with Japan over the Senkaku islands, which Beijing calls the Diaoyus, in the East China Sea.

“I do hope the statements of the good general today will be translated into action,” Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin told reporters.

He said Qi’s remarks about China having no hegemonic ambitions were “far from what is happening” in the sea.

The Philippine government last month protested at what it called the “provocative and illegal presence” of a Chinese warship near Second Thomas Shoal, which is occupied by the Philippine Marines.

Among the other moves that have caused alarm were China’s occupation of Scarborough Shoal (Panatag Shoal) off Zambales, and the deployment in March of Chinese naval ships to within 80 kilometers of Malaysia’s coast.

Competing claims have for decades made the area — home to rich fishing grounds and vital global shipping lanes and believed to sit atop vast natural gas deposits — one of Asia’s potential military flashpoints.

Gazmin, meanwhile, defended Manila’s move unilaterally to bring its territorial dispute with China before a United Nations tribunal after China refused to take part.

“We hope that the arbitration tribunal will issue a clarification in accordance with international law that will direct China to respect our sovereign rights,” Gazmin told the forum.

Qi also distanced his government from claims by some Chinese scholars that the Ryukyu Islands, which include Okinawa, do not belong to Japan.

“This is only an article of particular scholars and their views on these issues... it does not represent the views of the Chinese government,” he said.

Maritime disputes and the risks of conflicts that could hurt Asia’s economic growth were a running theme during the three-day conference that ended Sunday.

“Asia holds great promise for ourselves and the world but continued peace and prosperity in this region are neither fait accompli (an accomplished fact) nor automatic,” Singapore Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen told the conference.

“Instead, if we are to continue to enjoy stability and progress, we must work effectively in unison to strengthen areas of common interests.”         

http://www.tribune.net.ph/index.php/headlines/item/14905-warships-patrol-in-disputed-seas-legitimate-says-chinese-general