RP rejects US involvement in South China Sea dispute By Michaela P. del Callar 08/10/2010

RP rejects US involvement in South China Sea dispute

By Michaela P. del Callar 08/10/2010 The Philippine government yesterday said that Southeast Asian nations do not need US help in solving territorial disputes with China over the potentially resource-rich South China Sea. Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo told reporters that negotiations should be strictly between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and China, without the US or any other party’s involvement. Asked if he supported US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s statement last month hinting at greater US involvement in the South China Sea dispute, Romulo said: “No”. Clinton, in a regional security meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam last month, made it clear that the US wants unimpeded access to the area that China claims wholly as its own and urged parties to reach an agreement on a formal code of conduct to prevent conflict. Asked if he supports the US position, Romulo said: “We have to talk about it within Asean and of course China. It’s Asean and China.” “It’s (between) Asean and China. Can I make myself clear? It’s Asean and China. Is that clear enough?” Romulo told reporters..... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100810hed5.html

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