By Bradley Klapper
From: AAP
and the Herald Sun, Australia
July 12, 2012
THE Obama administration is pressing China to accept a code of conduct for resolving territorial disputes in the resource-rich South China Sea.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will on Thursday meet with
Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on the sidelines of the annual
conference of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
China claims almost the entire area and has created a new city to administer it, sparking deep concern from rival claimants.
The
sea hosts about a third of the world's cargo traffic, has rich fishing
grounds and is believed to store vast oil and gas reserves.
"The
United States has no territorial claims there and we do not take sides
in disputes about territorial or maritime boundaries," Clinton told
foreign ministers gathered in Cambodia's capital.
"But we do have
an interest in freedom of navigation, the maintenance of peace and
stability, respect for international law and unimpeded lawful commerce
in the South China Sea."
Asian countries should "work collaboratively and diplomatically to
resolve disputes without coercion, without intimidation, without threats
and without use of force", Clinton added.
ASEAN's 10 members
announced earlier this week that they had drafted a set of rules
governing maritime rights and navigation, and procedures for when
governments disagree.
They were presenting their proposal to China
at this week's conference, but China is not a member of the group and
has not agreed to anything.
The difficult diplomacy ahead could be
a major test of the Obama administration's efforts to "pivot" American
power towards the world's most populous continent.
Speaking out on
the subject already has helped the US deepen ties with Vietnam, and
relations are warming with other governments in the region.
But countless meetings between US and Chinese officials have not led to progress on a lasting solution.
Various
longstanding disputes among China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan,
Malaysia and Brunei involve the area's busy sea lanes, and many
observers fear the complicated web of disputes could spark a violent
conflict.
The stand-off between China and the Philippines in the
Scarborough Shoal off the northwestern Philippines began in April when
the Philippines accused Chinese fishermen of poaching in its exclusive
economic zone, including the shoal.
During the tensions, both sides sent government ships to the area although both had since withdrawn them.
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