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Gulf Times – Qatar's top-selling English daily newspaper - Philippines/East Asia
The Philippines yesterday welcomed what it saw as a gesture of support from the US amid an escalating row with Beijing over disputed territory in the South China Sea.
Manila has in recent months accused China of taking increasingly aggressive action in staking its claims to the disputed waters, prompting the US Congress on Friday to pass a resolution calling for a peaceful settlement to the conflict.
"The resolution supports the Philippine position of peaceful, multilateral and rules-based settlement of the... disputes in accordance with international law, and condemns the use of force and overt threats," Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said.
"We welcome the support of US congressmen to the Philippine position," del Rosario said in a statement.
China and the Philippines have overlapping claims to parts of the South China Sea, which is believed to hold vast gas and other natural resources, along with Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan.
The Philippines, which has one of the weakest military forces in the region, has been seeking greater support from the US, its main defence partner, in standing up to the Chinese.
Manila has also called for multilateral talks to settle the dispute and has pressed China to bring the issue before an UN-backed tribunal.
But China has insisted on bilateral talks only and rejected calls to bring the dispute before the tribunal.
The conflicting territorial claims in the South China Sea were expected to dominate the agenda at the gathering of South-East Asian foreign ministers and their regional counterparts on Indonesia's resort island of Bali this week.
Tensions have been rising between members of the Association of South South-East Asian Nations (Asean) and China over control of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea.
The Spratlies and other parts of the South China Sea are claimed by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, all Asean members.
"Whether we like it or not, it's a fact of life that the issue of the South China Sea has grabbed our attention, especially given the dynamics of the recent weeks," Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said.
Talks in Bali were to start with the Asean ministerial meeting tomorrow, followed by the meeting known as Asean+3, which includes China, Japan and South Korea on Thursday. Agencies
The Philippines yesterday welcomed what it saw as a gesture of support from the US amid an escalating row with Beijing over disputed territory in the South China Sea.
Manila has in recent months accused China of taking increasingly aggressive action in staking its claims to the disputed waters, prompting the US Congress on Friday to pass a resolution calling for a peaceful settlement to the conflict.
"The resolution supports the Philippine position of peaceful, multilateral and rules-based settlement of the... disputes in accordance with international law, and condemns the use of force and overt threats," Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said.
"We welcome the support of US congressmen to the Philippine position," del Rosario said in a statement.
China and the Philippines have overlapping claims to parts of the South China Sea, which is believed to hold vast gas and other natural resources, along with Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan.
The Philippines, which has one of the weakest military forces in the region, has been seeking greater support from the US, its main defence partner, in standing up to the Chinese.
Manila has also called for multilateral talks to settle the dispute and has pressed China to bring the issue before an UN-backed tribunal.
But China has insisted on bilateral talks only and rejected calls to bring the dispute before the tribunal.
The conflicting territorial claims in the South China Sea were expected to dominate the agenda at the gathering of South-East Asian foreign ministers and their regional counterparts on Indonesia's resort island of Bali this week.
Tensions have been rising between members of the Association of South South-East Asian Nations (Asean) and China over control of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea.
The Spratlies and other parts of the South China Sea are claimed by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, all Asean members.
"Whether we like it or not, it's a fact of life that the issue of the South China Sea has grabbed our attention, especially given the dynamics of the recent weeks," Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said.
Talks in Bali were to start with the Asean ministerial meeting tomorrow, followed by the meeting known as Asean+3, which includes China, Japan and South Korea on Thursday. Agencies
