Australia to ask China if others will get access to reclaimed South China Sea islands
[TOKYO] Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said on Tuesday she will seek clarification from China about how it intends to use reclaimed islands in the South China Sea, including whether Beijing intends to grant access to other countries.
China claims much of the South China Sea, through which more than US$5 trillion of trade moves annually. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam have rival claims.
"In the past (Chinese) Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said they will be public goods, so I am seeking more detail as to how other nations could access these public goods," Ms Bishop said of the islands. "Depending upon the answer he gives, we will look at the situation," she told reporters in Tokyo, where she met Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida.
Ms Bishop, who will fly to Beijing later on Tuesday for talks with Wang and other Chinese officials, would not say whether Australia would seek access to the islands.
Beijing has asserted its claim in the region with island building projects that have reclaimed more than 1,170 ha of land since 2013, according to the Pentagon.
It tested for the first time last month the 3,000m runway built on a reclamation on Fiery Cross Reef by landing several civilian airliners from Hainan island.
China has accused Washington of seeking maritime hegemony in the name of freedom of navigation after a US Navy destroyer sailed within 12 nautical miles of a disputed island in the Paracel chain of the South China Sea in late January.
REUTERS
BT is now on Telegram!
For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes
International
Outgoing Singapore, Indonesia leaders to hold their final retreat in Bogor on Apr 29
Beijing city to subsidise domestic AI chips, targets self-reliance by 2027
China passes tariff law as tensions with trading partners simmer
Blinken meets Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing
South Korea’s public finances no longer a credit rating ‘strength’: Fitch
UK consumer confidence improves as inflation and taxes fall