Li assures stability in South China Sea to boost trade
NAN-F-27
Trade
Canberra, March 24, 2017 (Xinhua/NAN) Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Friday that the market and business community could continue to have strong faith in the peace and stability in the South China Sea.
Kequiang said the business community could use the sea lanes with free passage to pursue more free trade.
The premier, who is on an official visit to Australia from Wednesday to Sunday, made the comment at a joint press conference with his Australian counterpart, Malcolm Turnbull, after their annual talks in Canberra.
He said that the South China Sea had always been peaceful and stable.
He said there were more than 100,000 commercial ships sailing through the region and people heard little about attacks or piracy against the ships.
“Maintaining peace and stability, freedom of navigation and overflight is the shared responsibility of all countries in the region, China has no intention to militarise the South China Sea.
“Our facilities on the islands and reefs are primarily for civilian purposes with a certain amount of military equipment to protect the freedom of navigation and overflight.
“As one of the largest traders of goods in the world, China’s interests are at stake in the region, where a large proportion of aircraft and ships that fly over are engaged in China’s trade with the rest of the world,’’ Li said.
He said without stability and freedom of navigation and overflight China would be the first to bear the brunt.
He said China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agreed in the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea that maritime disputes should be resolved peacefully through talks between parties.
“Both China and ASEAN are actively advancing the consultations on the formulation of a Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea to safeguard maritime stability and freedom of navigation and overflight, Kequiang said.
Turnbull said Australia was a non-claimant to any of the disputed territories or features in the South China Sea.
He said he was looking forward to the conclusion of the COC between China and ASEAN.
He urged all parties to refrain from taking any actions that would increase regional tensions. (dpa/NAN)
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Edited by Celine-Damilola Oyewole/Abdullahi Yusuf