China claims nearly all of South China sea, through which $5 trillion in annual shipping trade passes and which is believed to sit atop vast oil and gas deposits. Photo: ReutersManila: The US, Australia and Japan on Monday denounced Beijing’s island-building and militarisation of the South China Sea, in contrast to the increasingly tepid response from Southeast Asian nations over the festering issue. Its sweeping claims overlap with Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei—all members of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc—as well as Taiwan. The three nations also called on China and the Philippines to respect last year’s international arbitration ruling which dismissed much of Beijing’s claim in the sea. China insists the three countries should stay out of what it says are purely bilateral disputes with its neighbours.

Source: Mint August 07, 2017 09:33 UTC