Dual track right approach to South China Sea

By Wang Junmin

China Daily, April 22, 2015

The G7's statement last week expressing concerns over the "tense situation" in both the East and South China seas, and the ongoing biggest-ever joint military exercises between the United States and the Philippines have intensified tensions in the region. Meanwhile, some countries led by US keep lashing out at China's normal reefs fortification in the South China Sea.

These moves are all aimed at creating friction between China and its neighbors through reigniting the South China Sea dispute prior to the Asian-African Summit in Indonesia that marks the 60th anniversary of Bandung Conference and derailing the event from commemorating the "Bandung Spirit".

Sixty years ago, Asian and African countries that had just extricated themselves from Western colonial rule gathered in Bandung, Indonesia. Under the banner of "solidarity, friendship and cooperation", the meeting confirmed "anti-imperialism, anti-colonialism, and seeking common ground by shelving differences, as well as common development" as their common goals. The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence advocated by China constituted the norms to guide international relations and the exchanges between different countries.

The South China Sea dispute is only a problem arising in the development of China's relations with surrounding countries. It is China's long-cherished stance that it pursues a peaceful foreign policy of independence and adheres to the settlement of disputes through negotiations and consultations.

The disputed South China Sea islands have been a part of Chinese territory since ancient times. In the 1930s and 40s, France and Japan once occupied some of these islands and reefs, but sovereignty reverted to China after the end of World War II. As a sign of its territorial claim to these islands, the Chinese government later named them and marked their locations in published maps.