TIM eMagazine Vol.2 Issue 8
No militarization of
disputed islands:
China
C
hina has assured it will not militarize the West Philippine
Sea (South China Sea) amid reports that it has been
constructing military structures in the disputed territory.
Yao Wen, deputy director general for policy planning
of Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Asian
department, made this assurance on Monday in an
interview with 25 Asian journalists covering the 19th
Communist Party of China (CPC) National Congress.
“China will never seek militarization of South China Sea,” Yao replied
when asked if China could make categorically statement that it would not
use military to assert claims in the South China Sea.
The Chinese foreign ministry official, however, admitted that China
has been building structures in the reclaimed reefs and islands which are
“within China’s sovereignty.”
“Yes indeed, we have some construction works. There are some
projects that actually public structures especially the light house and
hospitals in which we believe the neighboring countries will benefit from
in the future,” he said.
Yao has reiterated China’s call to the countries not directly involved in
the sovereignty issue to leave the resolution of the disputes a