Wen: South China Sea not outsiders' concern

From left to right, first row: Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his wife Ani Yudhoyono and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak; second row: US President Barack Obama, Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and his wife Hitomi; third row: Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Laos Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong take a stroll during the East Asia Summit gala dinner on the Indonesian resort island of Bali yesterday.

Photo by Reuters

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Premier Wen Jiabao said yesterday that "external forces" had no excuse to get involved in a complex dispute over the South China Sea, warning them not to stick their noses into the sensitive issue.

But Wen also struck a softer line during a summit with leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, offering US$10 billion in loans and lines of credit and saying China only wanted to be friends.

The South China Sea straddles key shipping lanes and is potentially rich in energy resources.

While the White House says US President Barack Obama will bring up the issue at another summit today, also in Bali, China has said it does not want it discussed, preferring to deal with the problem bilaterally among the states directly involved.

"The dispute which exists among relevant countries in this region over the South China Sea is an issue which has built up for several years," Wen told the ASEAN leaders, according to a copy of his remarks carried on the Foreign Ministry's website.

"It ought to be resolved through friendly consultations and discussions by countries directly involved. External forces should not, under any pretext, get involved," he added.

Japan has also expressed concern over the dispute, and India has become involved via an oil exploration deal with Vietnam in the South China Sea.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa told reporters that China had sent positive signals about further discussing the code of conduct for the waters. "I think this is an important development," the minister added.

In July, China and Southeast Asian countries agreed on a preliminary set of guidelines in the South China Sea.

Despite the disagreements over the South China Sea, China has been keen to deepen trade and economic ties with southeast Asia and has a free trade agreement with the bloc.

"The China-ASEAN relationship is solidly based and has great potential and a promising future," Wen said.

"China will forever be a good neighbor, good friend and good partner of the ASEAN. We will work closely with you to implement all the agreements we have reached to bring more benefit to our people and make greater contributions to peace and prosperity in our region," he said.

To this end, Wen said China would offer the ASEAN another US$10 billion in loans and lines of credit, including US$4 billion of soft loans, on top of a similar pledge of US$15 billion two years ago.

China will also set up a 3 billion yuan (US$473 million) fund to expand practical maritime cooperation by promoting cooperation in environmental protection, navigational safety and combating transnational crimes, Wen added.

He said China and the ASEAN should step up cooperation in the financial field, by increasing the use of local currency swaps and "encourage the quoting of China's yuan and ASEAN currencies in each other's interbank foreign exchange."

"The world is undergoing profound and complex changes. The global economy may experience uncertainty and instability for a long time to come," he said. "China and the ASEAN should be both confident and sober-minded, keep our destiny firmly in our own hands and advance in the direction we have set to pursue our goal."

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