The Chinese Government has always stood for
negotiated settlement of international disputes through
peaceful means. In this spirit, China has solved questions
regarding territory and border with some neighboring
countries through bilateral consultations and negotiations
in an equitable, reasonable and amicable manner. This
position also applies to the Nansha Islands. China is
committed to working with the countries concerned for proper
settlement of the disputes related to the South China Sea
through peaceful negotiations in accordance with the
universally-recognized international law and the
contemporary law of the sea, including the fundamental
principles and legal regimes set forth in the 1982 U.N.
Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). This was
explicitly written into the Joint Statement issued at the
China-ASEAN informal summit in 1997. The Chinese Government
has also put forward the proposition of "shelving
disputes and going in for joint development". China is
ready to shelve the disputes for the time being and conduct
cooperation with the countries concerned pending settlement
of the disputes. This is not only what China stands for but
also what China does. In Recent years, China has on many
occasions had consultations and exchanged views on the
question of the South China Sea with the countries
concerned, and a broad identity of views has been reached.
The bilateral consultation mechanisms between China and the
Philippines, Viet Nam and Malaysia respectively are in
effective operation, and positive progress has been made to
varying degrees in the dialogues. At China-ASEAN Senior
Officials Meetings(SOM) and China-ASEAN Post-Ministerial
Conferences(PMC), too, the two sides have had candid
exchange of views on the South China Sea question, and
agreed to seek and appropriate solution to the problem by
peaceful means and through friendly
consultations. |
Basic Stance and Policy of the Chinese Government in Solving the South China Sea Issue
2004-04-21 18:53