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                   Clinton Urges China to Resolve Sea Dispute

   by VOA News

   U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in Beijing as part of a
   regional tour aimed partly at urging China and its neighbors to agree
   on a system for resolving territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
   After arriving in the Chinese capital late Tuesday, Clinton met her
   Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi and said Washington is "committed to
   building a cooperative partnership with China." She also said the
   U.S.-China relationship is a key part of the Obama administration's
   policy of boosting U.S. engagement in the Asia-Pacific region.
   Clinton wants Beijing to work with the Association of Southeast Asian
   Nations, or ASEAN, on a code of conduct for preventing territorial
   disputes from escalating in the resource-rich South China Sea.
   ''China claims almost the entire sea and opposes entering into
   multilateral negotiations that would give smaller ASEAN members greater
   clout. Beijing prefers bilateral negotiations that would give it more
   leverage over rival claimants such as Brunei, Malaysia, the
   Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
   Earlier Tuesday, Clinton was in the Indonesian capital Jakarta, where
   she urged Southeast Asian nations to reach agreement on dealing with
   China as a unified bloc. She made the appeal in meetings with
   Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and ASEAN
   Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan.
   Clinton is due to continue her Beijing visit on Wednesday by meeting
   more Chinese officials, including President Hu Jintao, Vice President
   Xi Jinping and State Councilor Dai Bingguo.
   Ahead of those talks, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei
   warned against U.S. "interference" in the region's maritime disputes.
   "We have noticed the United States has said many times that it will not
   hold a position on the South China Sea issue," Hong said. "We hope they
   can keep their promises and do more things that are conducive to
   regional peace and stability, not the opposite."
   Chinese state media also published a series of articles criticizing
   U.S. policy in the Asia-Pacific on Tuesday. Communist party newspaper
   The Global Times accused Secretary Clinton of causing "profound mutual
   distrust" between Beijing and Washington and said "many Chinese people
   dislike" her. The Xinhua news agency labeled the United States a
   "sneaky trouble-maker."
   Ralph Cossa, a security analyst at the Hawaii-based Pacific Forum, told
   VOA there is little chance of an all-out armed conflict between China
   and any of its rival claimants. But, he also said Clinton is unlikely
   to make any substantial progress on a code of conduct during her China
   visit.
   "I am very pessimistic that a meaningful code of conduct will be
   established," Cossa said. "There may at some point be something that's
   called a 'code,' but I doubt that it will have any verification or
   enforcement mechanisms. And, without that, it will be just another
   piece of paper that people will violate."
   Washington has said it does not take sides in the sea disputes, but has
   been critical about China's increasingly assertive maritime claims. On
   Monday, Clinton did not criticize China directly, but said "no party
   should take any steps that would increase tensions or do anything that
   would be viewed as coercive or intimidating."
   Clinton is in the middle of a six-nation Asian tour, her third to the
   region since May, as she helps implement Washington's strategic "pivot"
   toward the Pacific. It could be her last visit to China as secretary of
   state, as she has pledged to step down at the end of President Obama
   first term in office.
   The top U.S. diplomat's talks in China also were expected to focus on
   human rights, as well as several other international issues, including
   the Syrian crisis and the Iranian nuclear program. Her last visit to
   China was overshadowed by the plight of Chinese dissident lawyer Chen
   Guangcheng, who took refuge in the U.S. embassy and later fled to the
   United States after reporting abuses while under house arrest in China.
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/clinton-urges-china-to-resolve-sea-dispute/1501520.html