Mike Pence —AP
SINGAPORE—US Vice President Mike Pence said on Friday that the South China Sea did not belong to any one nation, and the United States would continue to sail and fly wherever international law allowed, comments sure to rile China, which claims the strategic sea route.
The United States has conducted a series of “freedom of navigation” exercises in the contested South China Sea, angering Beijing, which says the moves threaten its sovereignty.
“The South China Sea doesn’t belong to any one nation, and you can be sure: The United States will continue to sail and fly wherever international law allows and our national interests demand,” Pence said.
Pence attended the 33rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit, representing the United States as one of the dialogue partners of the regional bloc.
China, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan all have claims in the South China Sea, through which some $3 trillion of shipborne trade passes each year.
Carpio: China holds less than 8%
Acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio also asserted that the South China Sea did not belong to China or any state, contrary to remarks made the previous day by President Duterte.
“China is in physical possession of the entire Paracels, seven geologic features in the Spratlys, and Scarborough Shoal. These geologic features, and their territorial seas, constitute less than 8 percent of the total area of the South China Sea,” Carpio said.
Carpio, one of the leading figures in the Philippines’ arbitration victory against China, said: “Factually, China is not in possession of the South China Sea.”
In July 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague invalidated China’s sweeping claims in the South China Sea. But Mr. Duterte has downplayed the victory of the Philippines in favor of economic investments from China.
“Like all other coastal states in the world, the Philippines has exclusive sovereign rights to explore and exploit the natural resources in its EEZ (exclusive economic zone) in the West Philippine Sea, which is part of the South China Sea. If China can possess the South China Sea, then the Philippines cannot exercise its exclusive sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea,” Carpio said.
“About 25 percent of the South China Sea are high seas. Under Unclos (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea), no state can possess or own the high seas, which belong to all mankind. There is freedom of navigation and overflight in the high seas for all nations,” he stressed.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Asean Summit, Mr. Duterte on Thursday said China was “already in possession” of the disputed waters.
“It’s now in their hands. So why do you have to create frictions, strong military activity that will prompt a response from China?” the President then said.
‘Empire and aggression’
Pence told Asean leaders that there was no place for “empire and aggression” in the Indo-Pacific region, a comment that could be interpreted as a reference to China’s rise.
The US vice president’s latest comments follow a major speech in October in which he flagged a tougher approach by Washington toward Beijing, accusing China of “malign” efforts to undermine US President Donald Trump and reckless military actions in the South China Sea.
Asked about Pence’s statement, Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said: “I don’t want to interpret his words.” —REPORTS FROM FRANCES MANGOSING AND JULIE M. AURELIO