Non-militarization in region needs joint efforts, Foreign Minister says

Beijing has taken notice of the non-militarization commitment made by the US and Southeast Asia nations and it hopes such a commitment "could be honored by actions", Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks at a joint news conference with Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing, China, February 17, 2016.  [Photo/Agencies]

The top Chinese diplomat made the comments at a joint press conference in Beijing with his visiting Australian counterpart Julie Bishop.

After a two-day meeting, leaders of the US and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states released a joint statement on Tuesday in which they shared a commitment to "non-militarization and self-restraint in the conduct of activities".

Wang told reporters in Beijing that "China has taken notice" of the joint statement.

"Non-militarization serves the interests of all parties. However, non-militarization should not target a single country, and should not be applied with double or multiple standards," Wang said.

"The non-militarization in the South China Sea needs the joint efforts by relevant countries inside and outside the region," Wang said.

Zhou Yongsheng, a professor on international relations at China Foreign Affairs University, noted that it is actually the US that has embarked on the most frequent and the most provocative military activities in the South China Sea.

"The US has boosted warships patrolling in the South China Sea and made incursions into territorial waters of sovereign states… Such practices obviously have run against what it advocates as ‘non-militarization'," Zhou said.

The so-called US commitment on non-militarization does not accord with its actions, Zhou added.

In regard to China's defense facilities deployed on some garrisoned islands and reefs of the Nansha Islands in the South China Sea, Wang said the facilities deployed are "limited and necessary".

Such deployment is exercising the self-preservation right and the self-defense right endowed by international law, and it is "having nothing to do with militarization", Wang added.

The minister noted that beacons have been built there, and facilities will be built for weather observation and forecasting as well as helping fishing boats tackle storms and emergencies.