2016年CRI S. China Sea issue shouldn't define China-US ties: Official

 

The conference was cohosted by Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Former Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo.

"China and the US have neither dispute over even one inch of territory nor fundamental clash of interests in the South China Sea. The South China Sea issue should not be allowed to define China-US relations. Rather, this issue should be put in perspective against larger bilateral¹ relations and be transformed into an area of cooperation rather than arena² for confrontation³."

Dai also reiterated⁴ the Chinese government's longtime stance over the issue.

"The Chinese government was the first to propose and has consistently followed the position of "shelving disputes and pursuing common development." Its consistent position on the South China Sea issue includes the following three elements. Disputes should be settled peacefully through negotiation⁵ and consultation⁶, and managed through rules, norms and operating mechanisms⁷. Shared interests should be expanded through joint⁸ development and cooperation.

Freedom of navigation and overflight should be upheld and peace and stability maintained. These are both China's basic policies and solemn pledges on the South China Sea issue."

The Chinese government has said it will neither participate in the arbitration⁹ nor accept its ruling.

The Chinese side argues the court has no jurisdiction¹⁰ over the case since it is essentially¹¹ about territorial¹² sovereignty and maritime¹³ delimitation.

Also, back in 2006, China declared it would exclude disputes concerning maritime delimitation from mandatory¹⁴ dispute settlement procedures.

The government of outgoing Philippine President Benigno Aquino III filed the arbitration against China back in 2013.

He made the move despite his country's agreement with China on resolving their South China Sea disputes through bilateral negotiations¹⁵.

Despite the rising tensions in the region ahead of the arbitration award, think tank members at Tuesday's event in Washington DC believe eventually cool heads will prevail.

Carnegie Endowment Senior Associate Michael Swaine says he does not expect any provocative¹⁶ responses following the passing of the ruling.

"I'm hoping that, and there had been some basis for believing that in the statements of the Philippines new president and others, that calmer, cooler heads will prevail. And there won't be some provocative responses to this ruling."

Several think tank members at the conference say even from the military perspective, they believe the current tensions in the South China Sea are controllable.

Strategic policy analyst¹⁷ Brendan Mulvaney, associate chair of the Languages and Cultures Department with the US Naval¹⁸ Academy, argues that the momentum¹⁹ of improving military ties between the US and China won't be overshadowed by the South China Sea issue.

"Overall I think our two country relationships, specifically on the military front, are far better than they have been for a while. The South China Sea continues to be a sticking point, but it does not overshadow all the other things we are doing to cooperate and to foster some better relations. So hopefully we can use some of those ways to ameliorate the situation in the South China Sea. I think as long as we do a good job continuing to explain that to the public, than we can decrease some of the perceived tensions."

Douglas Paal, vice²⁰ president for studies with the Carnegie Endowment, says the upcoming deadline of the arbitration award could be a turning point when things in the region start to look better.

"It's my view that the July 12 deadline for the arbitration award should be viewed as a turning point to turn this from confrontation into cooperation, from adversary²¹ into advantage by leading directly into a period of diplomatic efforts to calm multiple sides of the disputes down."

For CRI, I'm Su Yi reporting from Washington DC.

1 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

2 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

3 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

4 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

5 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

6 consultation   

n.咨询；商量；商议；会议

参考例句：

• The company has promised wide consultation on its expansion plans.该公司允诺就其扩展计划广泛征求意见。
• The scheme was developed in close consultation with the local community.该计划是在同当地社区密切磋商中逐渐形成的。

7 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

9 arbitration   

n.调停，仲裁

参考例句：

• The wage disagreement is under arbitration.工资纠纷正在仲裁中。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding.双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

10 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

11 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

12 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

13 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

14 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

15 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

16 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。

17 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

18 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

19 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

20 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

21 adversary   

adj.敌手，对手

参考例句：

• He saw her as his main adversary within the company.他将她视为公司中主要的对手。
• They will do anything to undermine their adversary's reputation.他们会不择手段地去损害对手的名誉。