The Straits Times
21 November 2015
- RSIS
- Media Mentions
- China will have to “Rethink Approach” on South China Sea
China will have to “Rethink Approach” on South China Sea
China’s image has taken a knock in recent years due to its strident and muscular sovereign claims in the South China Sea and it will have to reconsider its approach, senior Singapore diplomat Ong Keng Yong said yesterday.
“China, with 1.3 billion people, says it owns everything in the water (of the South China Sea),” Mr Ong said in his special address at The Straits Times Global Outlook Forum.
“The reaction to what it has done in the South China Sea for the past two years or so, whether in Asean or around the world, seems to be a net minus for China’s image,” he said, referring to China’s creation of islands by reclaiming reefs in the South China Sea, whose sea lanes carry almost US$5 trillion (S$7 trillion) worth of trade each year.
IDSS / RSIS / Online / Print
Last updated on 01/12/2015
