VIENTIANE, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday refuted a trilateral statement issued by the United States, Japan and Australia which touched upon the South China Sea situation, questioning the trio to be peacekeepers or troublemakers.
Wang made the remarks when attending the 6th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting held in the Lao capital Vientiane, in response to the statement issued by the three countries on Monday evening.
Wang Yi said the China-ASEAN meeting was held in an amicable and harmonious atmosphere. A joint statement on fully and effectively implementing the Declaration on the Conduct (DOC) was announced at the end of the meeting by the 11 foreign ministers.
All parties pledged in the China-ASEAN joint statement to return to the right track of resolving specific disputes through consultations by parties directly concerned.
It sends out a positive message that China and the ASEAN will jointly maintain stability in the South China Sea, Wang said.
However, regrettably, late last night, the U.S., Japan and Australia jointly issued a statement, further playing up the South China Sea issue and regional tension targeting China, the Chinese foreign minister said, considering the damage this trilateral statement has done, China has to make a response.
Read the full story at Xinhua
NOTE: The “Joint Statement of the Japan-United States-Australia Trilateral Strategic Dialogue” Link in the above was added by PacificSentinel for clarity & context.
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PacificSentinel Comment:
Quote from the Story: "Now it is the time to test whether you are peacekeepers or troublemakers, " Wang said.
Maybe China should realize that the USA, Aus & Japan are neither, but rather "Law Enforcers" holding China accountable for it's actions & to International Law.