'High expectations' of Singapore as ASEAN-China dialogue coordinator

By Goh Sui Noi, Senior Writer, The Straits Times, 4 Aug 2015

China has high expectations of Singapore taking ASEAN-China relations to a new level as dialogue coordinator, given that the Republic is an important member of ASEAN that also knows China well, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here yesterday.

Tomorrow, Singapore will take over from Thailand the role of country coordinator for ASEAN-China dialogue relations for the next three years.

"In my view, Singapore is capable of undertaking these important responsibilities," Mr Wang said in reply to a question from The Straits Times at a press briefing after his meeting with his Singapore counterpart, Mr K. Shanmugam.

This was because the conditions were in place for Singapore to play an effective role as coordinator, given the good ties between China and Singapore and Singapore's own status in ASEAN.

"We hope and are confident that through Singapore's efforts, the China-ASEAN relationship will be taken to a new level, which would be a good thing for both China and the 10 ASEAN member states," Mr Wang said.

Speaking to Singapore media on the Republic's role as coordinator, Mr Shanmugam said he told Mr Wang "we are looking for a positive agenda, we want to get things done".

ASEAN and China are looking to upgrade their free trade agreement implemented in 2010.

"We want to make sure that it is of high quality," said Mr Shanmugam. He added ASEAN would be looking at several proposals for cooperation put forward by China.

With ASEAN and China marking the 25th anniversary of dialogue relations next year, there would be a slew of commemorative events taking place, he noted.

Mr Shanmugam added that Mr Wang also spoke about the South China Sea disputes and that they had a frank exchange of viewpoints.

"I said it was important that trust is built up between China and ASEAN on this issue," he said.

He also told Mr Wang that the South China Sea issue should not dominate the agenda for China-ASEAN ties and that it should be treated in the context that "the China-ASEAN relationship is much larger" than the issue.

China has overlapping claims with four ASEAN states in the potentially resource-rich South China Sea, through which US$5.3 trillion (S$7.3 trillion) of trade passes each year. Tensions have risen in recent months, with the Philippines taking China to the United Nations arbitration court over their disputed claims and China reclaiming land on several of the reefs and other features in the waters that it lays claims to.

Mr Shanmugam said that while it would take a long time to resolve the competing claims, "at least we can try and dial down the tensions". One way to do this is to make progress on the Code of Conduct to manage the disputes that China and ASEAN have been holding talks on.

He noted while the disputes had to be dealt with between the claimant states, ASEAN as a whole, including the non-claimant states, had an interest in ensuring that the tensions did not boil over.

He said there were non-regional countries which have deep-seated historical links and presence in the region.

"And their viewpoints on some issues, international issues outside of the claims, it is not going to be practical to say that they have no say," he added.

China has accused the United States of interfering in the South China Sea disputes while Washington has urged Beijing to stop its reclamation works in disputed areas.

Mr Wang yesterday said that while the multilateral ASEAN meetings taking place in Kuala Lumpur from today are not the right platform to discuss bilateral disputes as doing so might heighten confrontation, there are various parties who take a deep interest in the issue and China is open to having necessary and constructive discussion on the South China Sea issue at such multilateral fora.

However, "China does not accept any malicious hyping up of the South China Sea issue which is aimed at stoking confrontation", he said.

China 'has stopped land reclamation in S. China Sea'
By Shannon Teoh, Malaysia Correspondent in Kuala Lumpur, The Straits Times, 6 Aug 2015

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said yesterday that China had halted land reclamation in the hotly disputed South China Sea, an issue that has raised tensions with ASEAN countries claiming parts of the potentially resource-rich waters.

"You want to see who is building, then take a plane and have a look," Mr Wang told reporters when he was asked whether China was still working on the Scarborough Shoal, which is also claimed by the Philippines.

"China has already stopped," he said, when pressed on the reclamation issue after a press conference that followed a meeting with his ASEAN counterparts.



His remarks came a day after the Philippines, which has taken its dispute with China to an international tribunal, backed a proposal by the United States to halt all reclamation in the South China Sea, through which US$5.3 trillion (S$7.3 trillion) in trade passes each year. Apart from the Philippines, the other ASEAN claimant states are Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei.

On Tuesday, when asked whether China was building additional airstrips on its reclaimed islands, Mr Wang had said: "Why don't you ask the Philippines?"

Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario had told his ASEAN counterparts on the same day that China's "massive reclamation activities... have undermined peace, security and stability in the South China Sea".

China has been at odds with ASEAN and the US on how to proceed with talks on the South China Sea, most of which it claims as its own. Its officials insisted that the ASEAN meetings were not the right place to discuss the issue.

But ASEAN chair Malaysia said at the opening of the meeting on Tuesday that the maritime dispute was a "prime example" of how the ASEAN grouping should play a "vital part in effecting an amicable settlement".

US Secretary of State John Kerry also said when opening a meeting with ASEAN foreign ministers that after "a good meeting" with Mr Wang yesterday, he hoped that at the talks with the ASEAN ministers, "we will find a way to move forward effectively together".

Although Mr Wang insisted that an elusive Code of Conduct to manage territorial disputes in the South China Sea should not be discussed at the ASEAN meetings, he put forward a three-point proposal for "promoting peace and stability in the South China Sea" during the meeting with the ASEAN foreign ministers.

He said countries bordering the sea should speed up the finalisation of the code and explore ways to manage maritime risk, as well as uphold freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea.

However, a third element that calls on "non-regional countries" to "refrain from actions that may heighten tension or escalate the situation" goes against ASEAN's stand that the South China Sea is of importance to global stakeholders.

"The South China Sea is of mutual concern, not just for ASEAN, not just for China... you cannot limit the discussion to only members of ASEAN and China," ASEAN Secretary-General Le Luong Minh told The Straits Times.

Singapore formally took over as country coordinator for ASEAN in its dialogue with China yesterday. Singapore Foreign Minister K. Shanmugam told reporters that the regional bloc cannot "wish away or pretend South China Sea" issues do not exist and that member states are "not happy" with the progress made so far.

Malaysia wants ASEAN to do more to end S. China Sea dispute
But China repeats its stance that regional bloc is not the right forum for such talks
By Shannon Teoh, Malaysia Correspondent In Kuala Lumpur, The Straits Times, 5 Aug 2015

Despite China insisting that ASEAN meetings are not the right platform to discuss territorial disputes over the South China Sea, the regional bloc's foreign ministers "discussed the matter extensively" on the opening day of their three-day talks here, with Malaysia as chair stressing yesterday that the group "must do more" to resolve the issue.

The Philippines - which has asked an international tribunal to declare as invalid China's claims to virtually all of the South China Sea - led the way by backing a US proposal for a halt to all reclamation, construction and aggression in the potentially resource-rich waters.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said the reclamation work by China has "undermined the peace, security and stability in the South China Sea". Parts of the sea are also claimed by Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman had opened the day's events by saying the sea dispute was a "prime example" of how ASEAN should play a "vital part in effecting an amicable settlement".

"We have made a positive start. But we need to do more. Let this be the day we say we will do more," said Datuk Seri Anifah.

He confirmed that the ministers had talked extensively about the issue and explored "the possibility of putting in place preventive measures" to avoid future escalation.

But China repeated its stance yesterday that ASEAN was not the right forum for such talks, pointing instead to a joint working group as well as meetings of senior officials from both sides that Foreign Minister Wang Yi said had achieved important progress.

"The Code of Conduct should not be discussed at this ASEAN meet," he told reporters. The elusive COC is to govern territorial disputes in the South China Sea, but has seen little progress in the 13 years since it was jointly proposed by China and ASEAN.

Singapore's Foreign Minister K. Shanmugam also told reporters that the regional bloc cannot "wish away or pretend South China Sea" issues do not exist.

"We are not happy with the progress that has been made so far," he said, adding that the proposal of a moratorium for reclamation work in the key shipping lane had been discussed among ASEAN members without any consensus. Today, Singapore is taking over the role of country coordinator for ASEAN-China dialogue relations for the next three years.

China and the US have deep interests in South-east Asia, whose combined gross domestic product is worth US$2.4 trillion (S$3.3 trillion) - the seventh-largest in the world. The two powers will be represented in various meetings in Kuala Lumpur, with US Secretary of State John Kerry arriving today.

Mr Shanmugam also said that, in a bilateral meeting with Mr Anifah, he followed up on an issue relating to water supply "which is of importance to us". But aside from stating that "it has something to do" with pricing and water tariffs, he said he could only offer more details in Parliament later this month.

China-Singapore project in the works
By Goh Sui Noi, The Straits Times, 4 Aug 2015

China and Singapore have agreed to "move expeditiously" to launch a third government-to-government project that could be a flagship project for China's "One Belt, One Road" initiative, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said.

Building on the excellent cooperation the two countries have enjoyed so far, "and meeting China's desire to develop its western region and to accelerate its westward opening", the two sides agreed to move purposefully to get the project off the ground, Mr Wang told a press briefing after meeting his Singapore counterpart, Mr K. Shanmugam.

China's less developed western region is a key area for the overland portion of China's ambitious initiative to spur development along a continental route and a maritime route that links 65 countries.

The project comes after the Suzhou Industrial Park, begun in 1994, which helped China to attract foreign investment, and the 2008 Tianjin Eco-City project that served China's need to transform and upgrade its economy, Mr Wang noted.

Separately, Mr Shanmugam told Singapore media that a lot of work is being done on the third project and that "we hope later this year we will have moved a little bit further from where we are today".

"It is something that is of deep importance to China and us and we want it to succeed," he added.

Mr Shanmugam also noted the two countries were working to upgrade a free trade agreement (FTA) signed in 2008, adding: "We want a high-quality agreement."

Concurring, Mr Wang said that while the current FTA had brought great benefits to both sides, "the situation has been evolving and both sides feel that we need to raise the level of the FTA".

A joint scoping study is being conducted on the FTA upgrade, said a statement from the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday.

Mr Shanmugam also told reporters that the Chinese have expressed an interest in taking part in the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail that is being planned and that he told Mr Wang there would be a tender for the project in due course.

The two top diplomats also discussed the possibility of cooperation for the purpose of assisting third countries "and we welcomed that proposal", he added.

With both countries marking the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties this year, there has been a flurry of activities, including a state visit by President Tony Tan Keng Yam to China just over a month ago, and a reciprocal visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping later this year. Chinese Vice- President Li Yuanchao will be attending Singapore's Golden Jubilee celebrations this week, Chinese news agency Xinhua reported.