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| Mrs Clinton and Mr Natalegawa agreed that the code of conduct was essential |
US
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has urged South East Asian nations to work
together to resolve territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
Speaking in
Indonesia during her tour of the region, Mrs Clinton said the Asean bloc and
China must make "meaningful progress" towards drafting a code of
conduct for the disputes.
China has
competing territorial claims against four Asean member states.
The rows
have led to increased tensions in the region and fears of conflict.
At a news
conference with her Indonesian counterpart in the capital, Jakarta, Mrs Clinton
said the US did not take a position on territorial disputes.
"But
we believe the nations of the region should work collaboratively to resolve
disputes without coercion, without intimidation and certainly without the use
of force," she said.
"That
is why we encourage Asean and China to make meaningful progress toward
finalising a comprehensive code of conduct in order to establish rules of the
road and clear procedures for peacefully addressing disagreements."
Indonesia
has played a leading role in drafting the code of conduct, which China has so
far been reluctant to sign up to, preferring to negotiate with individual
countries.
Indonesian
Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa agreed with Mrs Clinton on the need for the
code, saying that without it, "we can be certain of more incidents and
tension for our region".
US 'at
fault'
Mrs Clinton
flew in to Indonesia from the Cook Islands, where she attended a Pacific
summit. She will later meet Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
She is also
scheduled to visit China, East Timor and Brunei before heading to the Apec
forum in Russia.
Her extended
visit is being seen as a sign that the US is stepping up its diplomatic
offensive in the region, as part of President Barack Obama's "pivot to
Asia" in the face of an assertive China.
China has
overlapping claims with four Asean members in the South China Sea. Earlier this
year, vessels from China and the Philippines faced off for several weeks over
one area, the Scarborough Shoal.
At a
regular meeting hosted by Cambodia in July, Asean failed for the first time in
its 45-year history to issue a joint statement because of tensions over the
disputes.
Vietnam and
the Philippines have accused host Cambodia of yielding to Chinese pressure to
keep the issue off the agenda.
Since then,
Mr Natalegawa has visited regional leaders in a bid to encourage co-operation
and the implementation of a joint code of conduct for all parties who claim the
various islands.
Mrs Clinton
flies to China after Indonesia for two days of talks. Defense Secretary Leon
Panetta is also due in China later this month.
On Monday a
commentary by China's state-run Xinhua news agency said the US needed to prove
it was "returning to Asia as a peacemaker, instead of a
troublemaker".
The
security situation in the region was worsening, it said, because South China
Sea and East China Sea territorial disputes were escalating.
"Washington,
which claims not to take sides in the disputes, is partly blamed for fuelling
the tensions because it has apparently emboldened certain relevant parties to
make provocations against China in order to achieve undeserved territorial
gains," the commentary said.
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