US To Continue Regular Talks on South China Sea, Diplomat Says
In an interview with VOA Khmer, Scot Marciel said “regular conversations” will help reduce regional tensions over the sea.
PHNOM PENH — A senior US diplomat says the US will remain neutral over South China Sea disputes in the region, but it will continue to have discussions with claimants. In an interview with VOA Khmer, Scot Marciel, the State Department’s top diplomat for Asia and the Pacific, said “regular conversations” will help reduce regional tensions over the sea. “The whole world has an interest in a peaceful South China Sea and in seeing these disputes resolved peacefully and diplomatically,” he said in an interview in Phnom Penh last week. “So we’ll continue to make that point.” Asean members Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei have claims to different parts of the sea, which overlap with competing claims from China. Marciel said the US’s diplomatic focus on Asia includes economic and trade cooperation, but it will remain neutral on the South China Sea issue. “What we have said consistently is it is very important how this dispute is resolved, that it should be done peacefully through diplomatic and legal mechanisms, not by force or threats or economic coercion,” he said. “So that’s why we have consistently, first, supported the negotiations of a code of conduct between Asean and China that would set sort of rules of behavior, but also called for the claimants to avoid any kind of actions that might raise tensions. Because it is going to take a while to solve the sovereignty claims, and it is very important that the dispute be handled peacefully and that everybody avoid any kind of act that might create tension.” The US navy has meanwhile continued to hold talks with the Chinese over conduct in the South China Sea. “We continue to have very productive dialogue with our Chinese counterparts,” said Adm. Samuel Locklear, commander of US Pacific Command. “Particularly relating to maritime security forces and military forces and how we can operate in a professional way with each other to eliminate the possibility of miscalculation.” China and Asean are also continuing talks on a code of conduct to reduce provocations on the sea, but progress has stalled, in part because China wants to deal with each different country bilaterally, while Asean and its members would prefer multilateral solutions.