China's Ambassador to ASEAN Says South China Sea Is A Bilateral Issue, Slams Intervention from "Third Party"

Liputan6.com, Jakarta - China's Ambassador to ASEAN, Hou Yanqi, asserted that the South China Sea issue should be treated bilaterally without interventions from any "third party", including other ASEAN countries which are not claimants. Hou's comment is seemingly also pointed to the United States which has been vocal in South China Sea's affairs. 

Hou Yanqi said the other countries have important roles to create " a very good atmosphere" so the claimants could engage in peaceful consultations and negotiations, but not to involve themselves.

"I don't think they have the responsibilities, even have rights to interfere into the bilateral engagements, because these kinds of territories do not belong to the third party," said Hou Yanqi during a conversation with the media in Jakarta, Friday (18/8/2023). 

The former China's ambassador to Nepal said the involvement of other countries would only make the situation "very complicated".

Ambassador Hou Yanqi also underlined that the dispute in the South China Sea should not be defined as China against ASEAN. 

"In fact, it is not a problem between China and ASEAN as a whole," said the ambassador.

Early this month, the US released a strong statement to support the Philippines, one of the claimants in South China Sea, after a minor incident between ships from China and Philippines.

"Firing water cannons and employing unsafe blocking maneuvers, PRC ships interfered with the Philippines’ lawful exercise of high seas freedom of navigation and jeopardized the safety of the Philippine vessels and crew," according to the statement from the US State Department.

The South China Sea's claimants among ASEAN countries are Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, and Brunei. The Philippines is particularly very vocal about their maritime zone in the South China Sea.