U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday played down tensions with China over territorial disputes in the East China Sea, saying U.S. efforts to strengthen maritime security in South East Asia were part of a normal process to help allies defend themselves better.
Kerry said disputes between countries should be resolved peacefully through arbitration and the United States would speak out when China took unilateral actions that raised the potential for conflict.
A day after announcing $32.5 million to stiffen maritime security in South East Asia, the bulk of it to Vietnam, Kerry said the United States would provide $40 million to the Philippines over three years to build its capacity to police the South China Sea.
"We don't view the situation as one of rising tensions and we don't want rising tensions," Kerry told a news conference with his Philippine counterpart Albert del Rosario.
"What we are involved in are normal processes by which we work with other countries in order to raise their maritime protection capacity."
Kerry said the United States had not taken a position on any particular claims by countries but did not agree with the way China had asserted itself in a dispute with Japan in the East China Sea.
"We are not approaching this with any particular view towards China except to say when China makes a unilateral move, we will state our position and make clear what we agree and disagree with," Kerry told a news conference.
He said the United States would stand by its allies in the region who are trying to resolve disputes with others through legal means.
Source: Reuters
