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| Chinese dredging vessels are purportedly seen in the waters around Fiery Cross Reef in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea in this still image from video taken by a P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft provided by the United States Navy May 21, 2015. Reuters |
(Business
Insider) --- China ’s
rapid claim on contested islands in the South China Sea is beyond anything seen
previously and raises legitimate questions about Beijing ’s intentions in the region, the
secretary of the Australian defence department, Dennis Richardson, said.
“The land
reclamation activity by China
in the South China Sea has been at a pace and
scale in the last two years beyond anything we have previously seen. It dwarfs
what the other claimant states have done, and the size of the land reclamation
does raise questions about its purpose,” Richardson
said.
Several countries
have laid claim to the islands, situated just north of Brunei , and the
naval corridor is an important shipping route for Australian vessels.
Labor has also
raised concerns over mounting tension in the South China
Sea and has urged the government to tread carefully.
The shadow foreign
minister, Tanya Plibersek, told ABC radio: “Australia and our Asian neighbours
in particular and others in the region have an expectation of being able to
move freely now and in the future in this area.”
 |
US Navy The
aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68), the guided-missile cruiser
USS Chosin (CG
65), the guided-missile destroyers USS Sampson (DDG 102)
and USS Pinkney (DDG
91), and the guided-missile frigate USS Rentz (FFG 46) operate in
formation in
the South China Sea.
|
She urged the
government to take a softly-softly approach to China ’s land reclamation program.
“It’s important
that we continue to see freedom of movement in that area, particularly freedom
of shipping, but making sure that we use language that calms the situation
rather than inflames it is very important,” Plibersek said.
“Our contributions
should be to ensure that tensions are de-escalated and understandings between
the parties continue to improve.”
Plibersek’s
comments followed those made by the defence minister, Kevin Andrews, who has
voiced opposition to any move by China to militarise the disputed
islands.
Andrews hit out at Beijing ’s reclamation program during an Asian security
summit in Singapore
on Sunday.
“We remain
concerned by any developments in the South and East China
Sea which raise tensions in the region,” he told the summit. “Australia has made clear its opposition to any
coercive or unilateral actions to change the status quo in the South and East China Sea . This includes any large-scale land
reclamation activity by claimants in the South China Sea .
“We are
particularly concerned at the prospect of militarisation of artificial
structures,” he continued.
Andrews urged all
the parties involved in the dispute – which include China ,
Malaysia , Brunei , Vietnam ,
Taiwan and the Philippines –
to sign a code of conduct immediately, in a bid to ease tensions.
“Disputes must be
resolved peacefully and Australia
urges all parties to exercise restraint, halt all reclamation activities,
refrain from provocative actions and take steps to ease tensions,” Andrews
said. “Because when tensions are high, the risks of miscalculation resulting in
conflict are very real.”
The opposition
leader, Bill Shorten, echoed the defence minister’s call for multilateral
cooperation.
“The only path to
working out all these issues … is through international negotiation and
discussion. There’s no other path to long-term peace than that,” Shorten said.
“We’re all in this together.”
Labor has asked the
Coalition for a briefing on the situation in the disputed region.
This article originally appeared
on guardian.co.uk
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