China demands ASEAN stay out of Vietnam dispute

By: 10 years ago

In this Aug. 29, 2013 file photo, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, right, meets with Vietnam Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing as 12 ASEAN foreign ministers are in the Chinese capital to attend the ASEAN-China foreign ministers meeting which aims to discuss economic ties as well as regional concerns such as disputed territory in the South China sea. Vietnam demanded China stop oil drilling operations in a disputed patch of the South China Sea, saying on Monday, May 5, 2014 that Beijing’s decision to deploy a deep sea rig over the weekend was illegal. China dismissed the objections, saying the activity was being carried out in its territorial waters. AP

BEIJING—China has criticized the top official of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations for saying Beijing intruded in Vietnamese territory, and a Chinese official has demanded the group stay out of the dispute.

A foreign ministry spokesman, Hong Lei, said the ASEAN secretary-general was sending “wrong signals” about the dispute over China’s deployment of an oil rig to disputed waters in the South China Sea.

The secretary-general, Le Luong Minh, who is Vietnamese, told The Wall Street Journal on Friday that “we have to get China out of the territorial waters of” Vietnam.

“China is strongly dissatisfied and firmly opposed to this,” said Hong. “We urge ASEAN to remain neutral (and) not intervene in the dispute.”