CHINESE DEFENSE MINISTER ON SOUTH CHINA SEA

Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe delivered a keynote speech entitled “China and International Security Cooperation” at the 18th Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, which was held from May 31 to June 2.

“The current situation in the South China Sea is improving towards greater stability,” Wei declared.“This can be attributed to the common efforts of every country in the region. However, there are still people trying to turn a profit by stirring up trouble in the region.”

He noted that over 100,000 ships sail through the South China Sea each year, and “none have been threatened.”

However, in recent years, some countries from far outside the region have become present in the South China Sea to flex muscles in the name of freedom of navigation. “The large-scale force projection and offensive operations in the region are the most serious destabilizing factors creating uncertainty in the South China Sea,” he said.

Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe delivers a keynote speech at the 18th Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

The victims of any chaos in the South China Sea will be regional countries, and China and ASEAN countries have made steady progress in negotiating the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, he added.

Wei noted that China’s construction on its South China Sea islands and reefs is legitimate and defensive in nature. “It is the legitimate right of a sovereign state to carry out construction on its own territory,” he explained. “China built limited defense facilities on the islands and reefs for self-defense.”“When threats persist in the region, we have to build defenses,” he explained. “When facing heavily armed warships and military aircraft, how could we turn a blind eye and not build some defense facilities?” he asked.

He also refuted the characterization of“militarization” of China’s defensive construction on its South China Sea islands and reefs at the Q&A session: “Anyone with any military sense would deem it far from militarized.”