VOA慢速英语: 在东盟，领土争端备受关注
Leaders from Southeast Asian nations are meeting inKuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. The leaders have called for a peacefulsettlement of competing territorial claims in the South China Sea. Their callsare a sign of growing tensions because of Chinese activities in the SpratlyIslands.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is serving as chairman of ASEAN, theAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations. He told leaders of the 10-nationgroup on Monday to follow peaceful settlement claims in the South China Sea.Those waters are said to be rich in oil and other natural resources.
Mr. Najib urged completion of talks on a draft or planned Code of Conductgoverning use of the South China Sea. Negotiations on the measure began in 2002.
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A picture of reclamation activity in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. |
“We need to peacefully manage differences closer to home, includingoverlapping maritime claims, without increasing tensions. Recentdevelopments have raised concerns about the South China Sea - and giventhe importance of its sea lanes to international trade, it is natural that almostany occurrence there will attract global attention. ASEAN must address thesedevelopments in a proactive, but also in a positive and constructive way."
China’s land reclamation has increased tensions
Tensions over territorial claims in the South China Sea have intensified afterthe recent release of satellite images. They showed that China is taking stepsto develop the disputed Spratly Islands. The waters around the islands arebelieved to be rich in oil and natural gas. Observers believe China isexpanding its claim to the area by building military bases and airstrips.
The Spratly Islands are more than 3,000 kilometersfrom China. They are 860 kilometers from thePhilippines and even closer to the coast of Vietnam.Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have claimed parts of thearea around the islands.
In 2012, China and ASEAN did make progress in talksabout the draft Code of Conduct. The goal was toprotect the political, economic and territorial interests ofstates in the area.
Mr. Najib said he would be pressing for more progress in talks this week.
“As Chairman, Malaysia hopes that we will achieve progress in our effortstowards an early conclusion of a Code of Conduct.”
On Sunday, Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario called onASEAN to press China to immediately stop its “massive reclamations” of land.Mr. Del Rosario said China was in a position to effectively take control of theSouth China Sea. He said this would have effects reaching beyond SoutheastAsia.
Vietnam also opposes Chinese claims in the area. Last year, violent anti-Chinese protests followed a move by China to set up an oil drilling platform inwaters claimed by Vietnam. China later withdrew the structure.
However, observers note there are deep divisions in ASEAN. ManySoutheast Asian countries are heavily dependent on China’s economy fortheir own economic growth. This makes a unified effort to balance China’seconomic power a difficult issue.
For example, China is a major trading partner with Laos, Cambodia andMyanmar. These countries have no claims in the South China Sea.
Also, Thailand has increased military ties with China. Links between the sideshave expanded since the Thai military ousted Thailand’s government in Mayof last year.
In 2012, ASEAN countries failed to reach agreement over how to deal withChina’s activities in the South China Sea because of divisions between itsmembers.
I’m Mario Ritter.
Ron Corben reported this story for VOA from Bangkok. Mario Ritter wrote it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.
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Words in This Story
reclamation – n. to make land available for use by changing its condition;reclaiming land from the sea
proactive – adj. controlling a situation by making things happen or bypreparing for future problems
conduct – n. the way that a person or group behaves in a place or situation;v. to guide or lead; to direct the performance of someone or something
How do you think ASEAN should deal with the territorial dispute? Let us knowin the comment section below.
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