(VOVworld) - A number of US senators have voiced their strong support for full and strict compliance with the ASEAN-China declaration on East Sea issues and urged all parties to settle their disputes peacefully and lawfully. Chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee John Kerry and senators Jim Webb, Richard Lugar, James Inhofe, and Joe Lieberman submitted a resolution to the Senate yesterday in support of the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC).
US Senator John McCain. (Photo: Reuters)
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The resolution recognizes ASEAN’s key role in ensuring peace, stability, and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region and the importance of a strong, cohesive, and integrated ASEAN as a foundation for peace, security, and economic growth and to ensure that the Asia-Pacific community develops according to rules and norms agreed upon by all of its members. It cites the commitment in the DOC to “freedom of navigation in and overflight of the East Sea provided for by the universally recognized principles of international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea” and insists that, with the pending adoption of a code of conduct (COC), all parties should meet DOC commitments consistently. It also supports a collaborative diplomatic process by all claimants for resolving outstanding territorial and jurisdictional disputes, allowing the parties to peacefully settle claims and disputes in accordance with international law.
In another development, US Senator John McCain warned Tuesday that China was “unnecessarily provocative” in saying it will establish a military garrison on disputed East Sea islands. The move is likely to stoke further tensions in the region. McCain said Beijing’s actions “are disappointing and not befitting a responsible great power”, adding that all parties with territorial claims in the East Sea must seek a peaceful, multilateral resolution that is based on international law.