Chinese leader Xi Jinping says his country won’t seek dominance over Southeast Asia or bully its lower neighbors, amid ongoing disunion over the South China Sea.
Mr. Xi made the reflections on November 22 during a virtual conference with the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, marking the 30th anniversary of relations between the sides.
“ China intensively opposes hegemonism and power politics, wishes to maintain friendly relations with its neighbors and concertedly nurture lasting peace in the region and absolutely won’t seek ascendance or indeed less, bully the small,”Mr. Xi said, according to the sanctioned Xinhua News Agency.
China has constantly sought to overcome enterprises about its rising power and influence, particularly its claim to nearly the entire South China Sea that overlaps with the claims of ASEAN members Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and the Philippines.
Mr. Xi’s reflections came days after Chinese seacoast guard vessels blocked and scattered a important sluice of water at two Philippine boats carrying inventories to colors at a disputed South China Sea ford.
China has sought to strengthen its presence in the raceway, home to pivotal shipping routes, fish stocks and oceanic canvas and gas deposits, by erecting airports and other features on islets created by piling beach and concrete atop coral reefs.
China’s important cortege, seacoast guard and maritime host have also sought to block moves by indigenous countries to exploit coffers within their exclusive profitable zones, and it explosively objects to operations by theU.S. and other foreign colors in the area. China and ASEAN have for times been negotiating a law of conduct for handling matters in the South China Sea but those addresses have made little progress of late.
China remains a pivotal request for Southeast Asian countries as well as a source of investment, and ASEAN has sought to avoid conflict with Beijing. China also has strong ties with ASEAN members Cambodia and Laos and has abstain from censuring Myanmar, where military sovereignGen. Min Aung Hlaing has cracked down relentlessly on the opposition since ousting the tagged government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in February.
Min Aung Hlaing was barred from representing his country at the last ASEAN peak, and it was not incontinently clear who attended Monday on behalf of Myanmar. The stricture came after an ASEAN envoy was averted from meeting Suu Kyi and other political detainees as part of a proposed dialogue on easing the extremity, in which security forces are estimated to have killed nearly civilians. The government has claimed a lower death risk.
In other commentary,Mr. Xi said peace was the “ topmost common interest”of all sides and China would ply its utmost to avoid conflict.
“ We must be the constructors and defenders of indigenous peace, contend on dialogue rather of battle, cooperation and nonalignment, and join hands in dealing with colorful negative factors that hang to undermine peace,”Mr. Xi said.
“ We must exercise true multilateralism and contend on handling transnational and indigenous matters through concession,”Mr. Xi said.
