JAKARTA: The world’s two biggest economies, the United States and China, squared off on the South China Sea issue at a meeting with Southeast Asian leaders on Thursday (Sep 9) while host Indonesia urged counterparts to maintain peace and avoid conflicts.
During the annual East Asia Summit (EAS) held in Jakarta on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit, Vice President Kamala Harris asserted that freedom of navigation and overflight must be respected in the hotly contested South China Sea.
Mdm Harris, who attended the meeting on behalf of US President Joe Biden, also said all disputes must be resolved peacefully and in accordance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea which was ratified by more than 160 countries, including China.
She also reaffirmed US support for the 2016 UN arbitral tribunal ruling, which ruled that China had no legal basis to claim areas in the sea worth over US$3 trillion worth of trade yearly as it carries one-third of global shipping.
“The Vice President also underscored the importance of the international rules-based order in preserving decades of peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific, while acknowledging the international community must address growing threats to that order,” read a statement from the White House.
It added that the vice president also raised concerns regarding “the grave human rights abuses being committed by the People’s Republic of China” during the EAS, which comprises the 10 ASEAN members and eight other dialogue partners, such as China and the US.
The US has often accused China of disregarding human rights in Xinjiang and as an abuser of religious freedom, among others.