MANILA, July 22 (Reuters) – Australia’s foreign minister said on Wednesday that Asian countries face a choice in how they respond to instances of aggressive conduct in the South China Sea that were of concern to Canberra.
A recent encounter in the South China Sea between China and the Philippines was a real concern, in addition to being destabilising and risky, Penny Wong said on the sidelines of a meeting led by the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN.
“We are concerned about some of the aggression we are seeing,” Wong said. “We are concerned about some of the destabilising conduct we are seeing.”
“The countries of the region have a choice to make about how we all respond to that.”
Wong was referring to an altercation on Monday in which Manila said one of its navy personnel was struck on the head. Beijing accused Manila of provoking the incident, resulting in both countries summoning each other’s ambassadors.
China’s foreign ministry said Australia was not party to the South China Sea issue and had no right to intervene in related maritime matters.
“China urges relevant countries to stop stirring up tension and inciting confrontation,” ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a daily briefing, adding that Beijing would continue to properly handle maritime-related disputes through dialogue and consultation.
(Reporting by Nestor Corrales in Manila, Additional reporting by Eduardo Baptista in Beijing, Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by David Stanway and Thomas Derpinghaus)
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