AP, Beijing :
China’s defense minister said Friday he wants to enhance dialogue to manage disputes with his country’s neighbors, sounding a conciliatory note after years of sharpened confrontations over territorial claims on land and sea.
Chang Wanquan said in a speech to a security forum in Beijing that China is considering opening defense hotlines with its Southeast Asian neighbors. Four of them, including Vietnam and the Philippines, are involved in disputes with Beijing over territory in the South China Sea.
China’s dispatch of ships and planes to assert those claims has significantly raised regional tensions over the past year, especially this summer when Chinese and Vietnamese boats sparred over the towing of a Chinese drilling platform into disputed waters. Beijing is also at odds with Japan and India over territory, but has lately worked to reduce friction.
“The key is to strengthen management and effectively prevent and resolve crises,” Chang told participants at the fifth Xiangshan Forum.
China raised the forum’s profile this year by inviting international media and high-level guests. Beijing also is in the middle of a diplomatic push to expand its “soft power” overseas, hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation gathering and sending President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiaing on high-profile visits abroad.
China’s defense minister said Friday he wants to enhance dialogue to manage disputes with his country’s neighbors, sounding a conciliatory note after years of sharpened confrontations over territorial claims on land and sea.
Chang Wanquan said in a speech to a security forum in Beijing that China is considering opening defense hotlines with its Southeast Asian neighbors. Four of them, including Vietnam and the Philippines, are involved in disputes with Beijing over territory in the South China Sea.
China’s dispatch of ships and planes to assert those claims has significantly raised regional tensions over the past year, especially this summer when Chinese and Vietnamese boats sparred over the towing of a Chinese drilling platform into disputed waters. Beijing is also at odds with Japan and India over territory, but has lately worked to reduce friction.
“The key is to strengthen management and effectively prevent and resolve crises,” Chang told participants at the fifth Xiangshan Forum.
China raised the forum’s profile this year by inviting international media and high-level guests. Beijing also is in the middle of a diplomatic push to expand its “soft power” overseas, hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation gathering and sending President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiaing on high-profile visits abroad.
