The head of the US military’s Pacific Command on Friday urged Vietnam and China to exercise restraint in the South China Sea, warning that the “risk of miscalculation” was high amid the escalating tensions.
Admiral Samuel Locklear said he has “serious concerns” that the row could flare into a regional confrontation and urged both countries to resolve the problem through “normal types of vehicles that allow them to use international law.” Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the 23rd World Economic Forum on East Asia in Manila, Locklear also urged claimant countries to immediately establish a formal code of conduct in the disputed sea, a key transit route for nearly two-thirds of the world’s goods shipped by sea.
He urged parties to “maintain the status quo” until such a code is put in place.
“The code of conduct should have been there several years ago. They appear to be not any closer today and underneath it, the status quo is changing.” “You can’t have a winner-take-all attitude,” he added. “It will require compromise, it will require dialogue.” The Association of South-East Asian Nations has four members with overlapping claims in the South China Sea, and has held halting discussions on a code of conduct with China for at least seven years.
“We are not acting fast enough and there are so many changes happening now,” Philippine Foreign Undersecretary Laura del Rosario said. Activities in the zones by the claimants make it difficult to define a baseline for the code of conduct, she said.
China, which claims almost the entire South China Sea, has been reclaiming land in the Johnson South Reef, allegedly to build an airstrip in an area claimed by the Philippines.
Beijing has also deployed a mobile, deep-sea oil drilling rig near the Paracel Islands, which are claimed by Hanoi, triggering anti-Chinese protests across Vietnam this month that turned into riots and left two Chinese workers dead and more than 100 injured.
The Philippines has filed an arbitration case against China before an international tribunal in The Hague, questioning its sweeping claims.
Vietnam said it was considering similar action.
Business leaders at the World Economic Forum expressed concern that the regional conflicts over the South China Sea could distract from the need to overcome widening inequality and to address climate change and ensure sustainable growth.