US official wants to replicate strategy

By Wang Zhaokun

A senior US military officer said Wednesday that Washington and Beijing should cooperate in the South China Sea, an area over which China claims indisputable sovereignty, despite rejections from Beijing over internationalizing issues in the region.

Speaking at a forum on US naval power organized by the Government Executive Media Group, Admiral Gary Roughead, the US chief of naval operations, said it was important to build cooperative ties with the Chinese Navy.

"The work we do in the Somali basin, in my opinion, should be replicated in the South China Sea and other places at the same level of cooperation," Roughead said.

His comments came amid visits to Asia by US President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

During the 25th annual Australia-US Ministerial (AUSMIN) talks Monday in Melbourne, the two sides agreed to hold discussions about the expansion of Washington's military presence in Australia.

Since December 2008, China has been dispatching warships to the Gulf of Aden and Somali waters to protect merchant vessels from China and other countries from possible pirate attacks.

Reuters reported that China and other nations operating in the area, including the US, routinely share location and course information and communicate about suspicious vessels.

Shi Yinhong, a professor with the School of International Studies at Renmin University of China, told the Global Times that the situation in Somali waters is not comparable to that in the South China Sea, which is Chinese territory.

"Even if it is necessary to send troops to the area to protect merchant vessels, it will first be up to China and other countries in the region to discuss the issue," Shi said. "It is very likely that the US made such a proposal to vie for leading power in resolving other regional issues."

When Clinton attended a regional security meeting in Hanoi in July, she claimed that the US has "a national interest" in the South China Sea, a statement later refuted by Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.

"We believe that disputes in the South China Sea should be resolved peacefully through bilateral negotiations between the parties directly involved. Pending a solution, we can shelve the disputes and engage in joint development," Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Hu Zhengyue said last week.

Hu urged other nations to follow through with the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, a non-binding, code-of-conduct document signed in 2002 by China and some Southeast Asian nations, namely the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Brunei, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore and Thailand.

Agencies