South Korea should speak out against China's forceful assertion of its territorial claims in the South China Sea as Seoul is a major player in the international order, a senior U.S. diplomat has said.
Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel made the remark Wednesday during a seminar on Korea, denouncing the land reclamation projects that Beijing has been carrying out in an apparent effort to bolster its territorial claims in the waters also claimed by countries like the Philippines and Vietnam.
"The role for the Republic of Korea is the role of a major stakeholder in the international order. It's the role of a country of laws. It's the role of a trading nation. It's a role of a country that has flourished under the international system," Russel said during the seminar co-sponsored by Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Korea Foundation.
"The fact that, like the United States, the Republic of Korea is not a claimant, in my view, gives Seoul all the more reason to speak out because it is speaking not in self-interest but speaking in support of universal principles and the rule of law," he said.
Russel said China's behavior raises the question of "What kind of a power does China seek to become?"
"For China to assert its claims through large-scale land reclamation, through the deployment of paramilitary forces or military forces that its neighbors see as threatening, is inconsistent with the kind of region that you and I want to live in," Russel said.
China should abide by the international order because it is the "framework in which China has grown and prospered," he said, adding, "That's the framework in which the Republic of Korea has prospered. That's the framework in which we want to see the disputes in the South China Sea addressed and resolved."
In Seoul, the South Korean government called for the easing of tensions in the region.
"Our government is closely monitoring recent situations with a position that protecting the freedom of navigation is indispensable, and peace and stability in the South China Sea, a major sea lane, is of great importance," Foreign Ministry spokesman Noh Kwang-il said at a press briefing.
Seoul hopes that relevant countries will "fully and effectively" implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), a 2002 deal between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), he added.
"Our government has constantly expressed such a basic position, and it plans to continue to do so on various future occasions, including multilateral meetings," Noh said. (Yonhap)
Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel made the remark Wednesday during a seminar on Korea, denouncing the land reclamation projects that Beijing has been carrying out in an apparent effort to bolster its territorial claims in the waters also claimed by countries like the Philippines and Vietnam.
"The role for the Republic of Korea is the role of a major stakeholder in the international order. It's the role of a country of laws. It's the role of a trading nation. It's a role of a country that has flourished under the international system," Russel said during the seminar co-sponsored by Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Korea Foundation.
"The fact that, like the United States, the Republic of Korea is not a claimant, in my view, gives Seoul all the more reason to speak out because it is speaking not in self-interest but speaking in support of universal principles and the rule of law," he said.
Russel said China's behavior raises the question of "What kind of a power does China seek to become?"
"For China to assert its claims through large-scale land reclamation, through the deployment of paramilitary forces or military forces that its neighbors see as threatening, is inconsistent with the kind of region that you and I want to live in," Russel said.
China should abide by the international order because it is the "framework in which China has grown and prospered," he said, adding, "That's the framework in which the Republic of Korea has prospered. That's the framework in which we want to see the disputes in the South China Sea addressed and resolved."
In Seoul, the South Korean government called for the easing of tensions in the region.
"Our government is closely monitoring recent situations with a position that protecting the freedom of navigation is indispensable, and peace and stability in the South China Sea, a major sea lane, is of great importance," Foreign Ministry spokesman Noh Kwang-il said at a press briefing.
Seoul hopes that relevant countries will "fully and effectively" implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), a 2002 deal between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), he added.
"Our government has constantly expressed such a basic position, and it plans to continue to do so on various future occasions, including multilateral meetings," Noh said. (Yonhap)
