China ready to speed up talks with Asean on South China Sea

BLOOMBERG

China is ready to work with Malaysia and other Southeast Asian nations to speed up consultation for a South China Sea code of conduct, Xinhua reported, citing Premier Li Qiang.
Beijing is prepared to collaborate to jointly maintain peace and stability of the area, Li was cited as saying during a meeting with visiting Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. “Asia is our common home and win-win cooperation is the only right choice,” Li was quoted as saying by Xinhua.
China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), have been working for nearly 20 years to establish a code of conduct covering the disputed body of water.
China asserts rights to more than 80% of the South China Sea based on a 1947 map showing vague markings that have since become known as the “nine-dash line.” Tensions have been rising between the Asian giant and other claimants to the area — the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam and Brunei — as Beijing builds out disputed reefs, islands and land formations and militarises them with ports, runways and other infrastructure.
Li also said, according to Xinhua, that China is ready to work with Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries to actively advance negotiations on the Asean-China Free Trade Area, as well as to jointly implement the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and promote building the East Asia economic community.
Meanwhile, Anwar said both Li and President Xi Jinping have agreed to boost trade relations with Malaysia under the Belt and Road Initiative, including expediting the East Coast Rail Link project, Bernama reported.
Last month, China hit back at the US for expanding military access in
the Philippines, saying Washington was trying to “encircle and contain” it.
The Philippines gave the US access to four more military bases under the countries’ Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, with some of the sites believed to be in provinces near Taiwan. The 2014 pact allows the US to rotate its troops for prolonged stays as well as build and operate facilities on Philippine bases.
The Philippines under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has been ramping up the rhetoric against Beijing on territorial dispute. At the same time, it plans to restart patrols with the US in disputed waters and expand military exercises with American troops.
Marcos’s administration has filed at least 77 diplomatic protests against China over “alleged” violations in the South China Sea since it started in June 2022. That was almost a fifth of the 388 filings made by his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte who pivoted the Philippines’ foreign policy towards China during his six-year tenure.
The US has said its so-called “freedom of navigation operations” follow international law. The Chinese Embassy statement echoed Chinese President Xi Jinping’s remarks, where he said Beijing is grappling with “comprehensive containment and suppression by western countries led by the US.” Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang has also warned of moves to “contain and suppress China in all respects.”