NEW DELHI: India on Sunday once again pitched for a peaceful resolution of territorial disputes between China and its smaller neighbours in the South China Sea at an Asean multilateral meeting that is been dominated by this issue over the weekend.
External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj while making her intervention at the Asean Regional Forum meeting at Nay Pyi Taw, in Burma on Sunday said that recent disputes in the South China Sea “underscores the need to resolve sovereignty issues peacefully by the countries concerned in accordance with international law.” India, in the past, has experienced Chinese muscle-flexing in the disputed sea when Beijing had objected to oil exploration by ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) off the coast of Vietnam.
Reiterating India’s position on the matter, Ms Swaraj said that India supports the freedom of navigation and resources in accordance with international laws including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
She also underscored once again India’s desire that there will be progress on implementing the gui-delines to the 2002 Decl-aration of Conduct on the South China Sea and the adoption of a code of Conduct based on consensus.
India’s remarks came on a day when US secretary of state John Kerry put forth a proposal that called for a freeze on actions concerning the South China Sea that could “complicate or escalate disputes.”
Mr Kerry’s remarks came while addressing the 10-member Asean bloc and the Chinese foreign minister on Sunday.
