ASEAN Summit: US, Japan and China square off over maritime security amid rising tensions

During the ASEAN regional summit, the United States, China and Japan squared off over maritime security in the South and East China Seas and the Taiwan Strait. US President Joe Biden and newly minted Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida took part in the virtual gathering of the East Asia Summit for the first time since they took office. The Summit took place amid rising tensions between the US and China over several issues in the Asia-Pacific region. 

According to Kyodo News, Biden, at the online Summit, noted the “enduring” US commitment to the Indo-Pacific. He expressed concern over “threats” to the international rules-based order and vowed to stand with allies and partners in support of democracy, human rights, rule of law and freedom of the seas. He said that the US will explore with partners the development of an Indo-Pacific economic framework that would define their shared objectives around trade facilitation, standards for the digital economy and technology, supply chain resiliency, clean energy, infrastructure and other areas. 

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, on the other hand, expressed unhappiness with the US move in the region. At the Summit, Keqiang thanked the joint efforts of China and ASEAN countries and said that the situation in South China has maintained overall stability and there has never been a problem with the freedom of navigation and overflight. He further went on to say that maintaining peace, stability and the freedom of navigation and overflight in the sea serves the common interests of all parties. He also voiced hope that all member states of ASEAN will support regional countries in making the South China Sea and sea of peace, friendship and cooperation. 

Separately, following the Summit, Japanese PM Fumio Kishida told reporters that he conveyed Japan’s firm stance on maritime security in the South and East China seas. Kishida informed that he also touched on the issues of China’s alleged human rights abuses against the Muslim Uyghur minority in the Xinjiang region. The Japanese PM also expressed concern over the crackdown on freedoms in Hong Kong and the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, he said. 

South China Sea tensions 

It is to mention that China has been trying to bolster relations with the ASEAN members. But it has conflicting territorial claims with Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, as well as Taiwan, in the South China Sea. China has been claiming sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea and even built a number of artificial islands with military infrastructure there. 

However, in 2016, the Hague based Permanent Court of Arbitration rejected China's claims on the South China Sea and areas inside the ‘nine-dash line’. But Beijing, which claims sovereignty, without evidence, over 3.5 million square kilometres of the South China Sea, has ramped up its assertiveness in the region, which is a resource-rich area. In response, the US has sent warships to the waters to assert its right to freedom of navigation. 

(Image: AP)