Spotlight: Senior Chinese diplomat says confrontation in South China Sea benefits none
BEIJING, May 12 (Xinhua) -- The current situation in the South China Sea is the result of "entangling effect of the actions and reactions along multiple lines" and confrontation over the issue would benefit none, a senior Chinese diplomat said in an article.
The article, co-authored by Fu Ying, chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress of China, and Wu Shicun, president of the National Institute of the South China Sea, was published on Monday in the U.S. magazine The National Interest.
Titled "South China Sea: How We Got to This Stage," the article reviews the chain of events leading to the escalation of tensions in the South China Sea, lays out China's policy objectives and calls on relevant players to cooperate so as to seek viable solutions to the disputes.
Starting by presenting the stark differences in public opinion in both China and the United States regarding the South China Sea issue, the two authors make a convincing case that the elements that pushed the spiraling twists and turns include not only sovereignty, resources and strategic security considerations, but also tangible interests, among other factors.
The article notes that the United States as a power from outside the region has "played a major role by coming into the issue and adjusting its policies toward the region since 2009."
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Spotlight: Many Arab nations back China's stance on South China Sea
BEIJING/DOHA, May 14 (Xinhua) -- China's stance on the South China Sea is backed by many Arab countries, which expressed staunch support for Beijing's efforts to settle the issue peacefully.
In a statement issued at the 7th Ministerial Meeting of China-Arab Cooperation Forum, the participating Arab countries said they support China's efforts to peacefully resolve territorial and maritime differences with certain nations through friendly dialogue and negotiation.
They also stressed that the rights of sovereign nations as well as the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) signatories to choose how to solve their disputes should be respected.
Earlier, Arab League Secretary-General Nabil al-Araby made a similar statement at a joint press conference with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Bin Jassim Al-Thani.
He said both the Arab world and China will continue to support each other on issues concerning their respective core interests.
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Interview: Arab states praiseworthy for stance on South China Sea issue -- Chinese envoy
BEIJING, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Arab countries are praiseworthy for supporting China's stance on the South China Sea issue, a Chinese diplomat has said.
In a statement issued Thursday at the seventh Ministerial Meeting of the China-Arab Cooperation Forum held in Doha, capital of Qatar, the participating Arab countries said they support China's efforts to peacefully resolve territorial and maritime differences with certain nations through friendly dialogues and negotiations.
They also stressed that the rights of sovereign nations as well as the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea signatories to choose how they solve their disputes should be respected.
"It is praiseworthy that Arab League Secretary-General Nabil al-Araby, some Arab countries and the Doha statement confirmed their support for China's stance on the South China Sea issue," Gong Xiaosheng, China's special envoy on the Middle East issue, said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua on Friday.
Top diplomats from Algeria, Comoros, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Yemen, in their separate meetings with Wang on the sidelines of the China-Arab forum, expressed their support for China's position on the South China Sea issue, stressing that related disputes should be solved through negotiations.
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Cambodian Prince Ranariddh's party backs China's rejection of South China Sea arbitration
PHNOM PENH, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's royalist Funcinpec Party has voiced its support to China for rejecting the arbitration over the South China Sea issue, which was unilaterally initiated by the Philippines, and urged the two sides to resolve their dispute through bilateral negotiations.
Manila unilaterally initiated an arbitration case against China over maritime disputes in the South China Sea at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in early 2013 under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The decision will probably be announced in May or June.
China has declared that it will neither accept nor participate in the arbitration initiated by the Philippines, saying the arbitration violates the basic principles of international law and undermines the integrity and authority of the UN Convention on the Law of Sea (UNCLOS), and it has no right to adjudicate on the case as in 2006.
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Arbitration case ticking time bomb against Philippines: columnist
MANILA, May 15 (Xinhua) -- The South China Sea arbitration case the Philippines filed is like a ticking time bomb working against the country, a columnist wrote on Saturday.
Rod Kapunan, a columnist for the Philippines' daily newspaper The Standard, published an article named "Inciting to War with China."
According to Kapunan, bring the case to Permant Court of Arbitration (PCA) was a lose-lose proposition.
"It implies that we would respect whatever decision that the arbitration court will render. We can no longer turn our back much that it was this government that took the initiative to bring the case for arbitration. On the part of the Chinese, they may not demand that we withdraw our case, but certainly they would not accede to negotiate while a case remains pending against them before the international arbitration tribunal," he wrote.
"We completely deprived ourselves of the opportunity once offered to us by China, like a joint cooperation to explore, harness and develop the area," he added.
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