Newsgroups: bit.listserv.seasia-l
Date:         Mon, 27 Jul 1992 15:13:13 -0400
From:         Nhan Tran <tran@PEORA.SDC.CCUR.COM>
Subject:      NEWS: Spratlys island dispute ...
X-To:         FISHLM%SNYBUFVA@pucc.princeton.edu, scv@media.mit.edu,
              seasia-l@msu.BITNET, vietnam@cco.caltech.edu, vn-news@saigon.com

07/22

China Assures ASEAN on Spratlys

By William Branigin
 Washington Post Foreign Service

   MANILA, July 21 - China told Southeast Asian nations today that it will not
use force to defend its claim to a disputed, potentially oil-rich island group
in the South China Sea or seek to fill a perceived power vacuum left by the
United States in the region.
   Chinese Foreign Minister Qian Qichen gave the assurances to his counterparts
in the six-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which began
meetings today to discuss issues including regional security and free trade.
   "China is in favor of shelving territorial differences" over the Spratly
Islands, said Philippine spokesman Romualdo Ong in describing Qian's meeting
with the ASEAN foreign ministers. China, Taiwan and Vietnam claim the Spratlys
in their entirety, while Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines claim some of the
islands closest to their shores.
   Leaders of ASEAN, which includes Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore,
Brunei and the Philippines, have expressed concern about recent moves by Beijing
to bolster its claim and have called for restraint.
   In a speech to the annual foreign ministers' meeting today, Philippine
President Fidel Ramos said that despite the easing of Cold War tensions, "the
potential for trouble remains" in Southeast Asia. "Rival claims to the South
China Sea are a growing cause for concern," he said.
   At issue is a collection of more than 100 mostly barren atolls, reefs and
shoals, covering an area 500 miles by 200 miles, that are thought to sit atop
oil reserves under the shallow sea.
   All the claimants except Brunei maintain military garrisons on some of the
islands.
   The most serious clash over the isles came in 1988 when Hanoi charged that a
Chinese armada sank three Vietnamese naval supply ships, killing 72 Vietnamese
sailors.
   In May, Beijing signed an agreement with a U.S. firm, Crestone Energy Corp.,
to explore for oil and gas between the islands and Vietnam.
   Qian told reporters that Beijing is ready to engage in "peaceful
negotiations" aimed at "joint development" of the islands at an opportune time.
Until then, he said, "we can shelve the dispute."
   Regarding the U.S. withdrawal by the end of this year from its last military
base in the Philippines, Subic Bay Naval Station, Qian said China will not try
to project military strength into the region.
   "China is not ready to fill up the so-called vacuum," he said. "China is not
in favor of such an idea, and it has no intention of doing so. We believe that
this region should be one of stability, peace and prosperity."
   After their two-day meeting, the foreign ministers are scheduled to meet with
several "dialogue partners" from outside the region, including Secretary of
State James A. Baker III. Among the other countries represented at the meetings
are Vietnam and Laos, which have applied to join ASEAN, and Russia, which is
attending for the first time.
   Human rights activists have urged ASEAN to take a stand against human rights
violations in the region, especially alleged atrocities committed by the Burmese
military junta against Rohinga Muslim refugees from Burma's Arakan State.
However, Ong said today that no human rights issues are on the agenda.


---------------------------------------------------

07/22

ASEAN WINS ASSURANCE FROM CHINA ON SPRATLYS

    By Ruben Alabastro
    MANILA, July 22, Reuter - Southeast Asian foreign ministers were winding up
their Manila conference on Wednesday, apparently with an assurance from China
that it will not use force to assert its claim over a group of disputed islands.
    Diplomats said ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) were completing a communique which is expected to call on rival
claimants to the Spratly Islands to exercise self-restraint.
    The cluster of small islands and reefs in the South China Sea lies astride
strategic shipping lanes and is believed to be potentially rich in oil and gas
deposits.
    The area is claimed wholly or in part by China, Vietnam, Taiwan and ASEAN
members Malaysia, the Philippines and Brunei.
    "China has maintained that it is not interested in using force," Philippine
Foreign Secretary Raul Manglapus told reporters on Wednesday.
    "China is in favour of shelving the matter of sovereignty and concentrating
on joint cooperative activity over the area," ASEAN spokesman Romualdo Ong of
the Philippines told reporters on Tuesday night.
    He said Chinese Foreign Minister Qian Qichen told ASEAN in closed door talks
that Beijing was ready to cooperate with other countries in exploring the
Spratlys' resources.
    Diplomats said ASEAN ministers in their communique to be released later on
Wednesday were expected to stress that any adverse development in the Spratlys
would harm regional peace and security.
    ASEAN groups Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Brunei and the
Philippines.
    Concern over Chinese intentions in the Spratlys was heightened when China
occupied Da Lac reef on July 4 and signed an oil exploration agreement with the
U.S.-based Crestone Energy Corp to drill for oil in the area.
    In talks on Tuesday, China and the ASEAN ministers agreed to set aside
formal talks on the Spratlys and pursue discussions instead in a low-key,
informal level.
    Ong said China opposed official and public discussion of the sovereignty
issue because it might only harden positions and increase tension.
    ASEAN agreed for the time being to China's suggestion that talks be kept
informal, Ong said.
    "In the Asian context, some things are best discussed in private...there are
better results to achieve that way," he added.
    "This is a delicate issue. It should be handled delicately and it should not
be handled by strong words said in public because that will not solve anything."
    Manglapus earlier suggested an international conference to resolve the
question, but Beijing resisted the idea.
    Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas urged Spratly claimants to resolve
their differences peacefully before they erupted into a destructive
confrontation.
    All claimants except Brunei have stationed troops on tiny islands in the
group. In 1988, three Vietnamese naval boats were sunk and 72 Vietnamese killed
in a clash with China.


---------------------------------------------------

07/22

JAPAN WELCOMES ASEAN DRAFT DECLARATION ON SPRATLYS

    TOKYO, July 22, Reuter - Japan welcomed a draft declaration, expected to be
signed by foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) later today, which urged the six claimants to the Spratly Islands to
renounce force in settling their dispute.
    Government spokesman Nobuo Ishihara told reporters: "It is good that the
countries involved have agreed to try to resolve this problem rationally and
peacefully. Armed conflict in this region absolutely must be avoided."
    The Spratlys, a cluster of potentially oil-rich isles and reefs in the South
China Sea, are being claimed wholly or in part by China, Vietnam, Taiwan,
Malaysia, the Philippines and Brunei.
    The ASEAN ministers from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Brunei
and the Philippines, were due to issue a declaration at the end of their two-day
annual meeting in Manila.


---------------------------------------------------

07/22

ASEAN CALLS FOR PEACEFUL RESOLUTION OF SPRATLY ISLAND DISPUTE

MANILA, PHILIPPINES (JULY 22) UPI - Foreign ministers of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations called Wednesday for a peaceful resolution of the
Spratly Island dispute and joint exploration in the area as China reiterated
its support for cooperation in the resource-rich area.

The ASEAN ministers issued the call in a Declaration on the South China Sea,
which they released separately from a joint communique at end of a two-day
meeting here.

They said they issued a separate declaration to underscore their concern about
the six-nation dispute over the island chain.

The declaration urged all claimants to resolve the dispute ''by peaceful means
without resort to force'' and ''exercise restraint with the view to creating a
positive climate for the eventual resolution of all disputes.''

The some 1,000 islets and reefs are sprinkled across strategic shipping lanes
and are thought to sit atop vast oil deposits.

The area is claimed wholly or in part by China, Vietnam, Taiwan and three of
the six ASEAN members - the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei. Singapore,
Thailand and Indonesia are the other ASEAN members.

Philippine Foreign Minister Raul Manglapus told reporters China had reiterated
that it ''is not interested in using force'' to push its claim over the entire
chain. He added that China had expressed willingness to jointly exploit
resources in the area during closed door meetings with ASEAN ministers.

However, Chinese Foreign Minister Quian Qichen staunchly opposed suggestions
from several ASEAN ministers for formal talks over the dispute, and Manglapus
said discussions would continue at a low-key, informal level.

China earlier this year occupied a reef in the Spratlys and signed an agreement
with U.S.-based Crestone Energy Corp., allowing the firm to explore for oil in
the area's waters.

The move rekindled concerns over China's intentions in the Spratlys.

All claimants to islands but Brunei have military installations there and
diplomats have labeled the area a potential flashpoint.

China and Vietnam clashed briefly over the islands in a 1988 battle that
sankthree of Hanoi's patrol boats and killed 77 of its sailors. Chinese
casualties, if any, are not known.


---------------------------------------------------

07/23

VIETNAM WANTS FORMAL TALKS ON SPRATLYS

    MANILA, July 23, Reuter - Vietnam on Thursday insisted on official talks to
settle a six-nation dispute over the Spratly Islands, risking a diplomatic clash
with rival claimant China.
    "It is necessary to have formal talks since only an official meeting can
lead to a solution of the dispute," Vietnamese Foreign Minister Nguyen Manh Cam
told reporters.
    Chinese Foreign Minister Qian Qichen has said Beijing favours an informal,
low key discussion of the issue because official negotiations may only increase
tension among the claimants to the potentially oil-rich area.
    The Spratlys are a cluster of small islands and reefs in the South China Sea
which China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines are claiming
wholly or in part.
    Cam and Qian came to Manila for talks with the foreign ministers of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) who are holding a series of
meetings here.
    ASEAN in a declaration on Wednesday urged claimants to the Spratlys to
renounce force in settling their dispute.
    China occupied Da Lac reef in the Spratlys on July 4.
    In May it signed a contract with the U.S. Crestone Energy Corp to drill for
oil in the Spratlys and said it was prepared to defend the agreement.
    Cam said Hanoi had asked U.S. officials to tell Crestone to stop the deal
and that they had promised to talk to the firm.
    "We are resolved to defend our sovereignty but we advocate peaceful
negotiations," Cam said. "We don't want to make war because we have had enough
of wars. But we are resolved to defend our security. We paid very dearly (for
it)," he said.
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