China and countries bordering the South China Sea should establish a cooperation mechanism to spice up exchanges of activities starting from disaster relief to shipping safety, a senior diplomat said in comments on Monday.
China claims many of the resource-rich South China Sea, through which about $5 trillion in ship trade passes every year. Brunei’s neighbors Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam even have claims to the strategic waterway.
Although China’s construction of artificial islands and military deployment in the realm have unnerved its neighbors, Beijing has also tried to reassure Southeast Asia, including by: discussing the code of conduct for waterways.
Speaking at a weekend forum within the southern island’s Hainan province, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin said the mechanism would increase mutual trust and strengthen cooperation, in response to a transcript of his speech published on Monday.
This would contribute to exchanges in areas similar to disaster prevention, maritime rescue, environmental protection, biodiversity, scientific research and shipping safety, he added.
“The mechanism goals to strengthen pragmatic cooperation and increase mutual trust, to not settle disputes,” Liu said.
Source: Reuters | Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing: Clarence Fernandez
