The United States and China traded barbs Monday over the issue of the disputed South China Sea at the East Asia Summit which brought together 18 Asia-Pacific nations.

According to diplomatic sources, U.S. national security adviser Robert O'Brien, who attended on behalf of U.S. President Donald Trump, stressed that China's claims of sovereignty over the sea are unacceptable.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang argued that if a conflict occurs in the South China Sea, the economic impact on China will be immeasurable, and called on and foreign countries not to increase tensions in the region. He was apparently referring to "freedom of navigation operations" conducted by the United States near Chinese-held features in the sea.

Li also reassured his counterparts that China preferred amity and peace with neighboring countries.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, whose country is one of four Southeast Asian claimants in the dispute with China, voiced concern over the sea tension, saying the South China Sea row should be settled through negotiation.

"We pointed out that we are a small country. Can't confront China," he was quoted as saying.

[Pool photo]

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for a peaceful solution based on international law, saying, "Regional peace and prosperity are being challenged."

At a press conference following the summit, O'Brien said the region "has no interest in a new imperial era where a big country can rule others on a theory that might makes right," reiterating U.S. criticism of China's actions in the maritime area.

However, given that some members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations apparently felt slighted by Trump's decision to send a non-Cabinet level official in his stead, the bloc was not in full agreement with the U.S. assertions.

The one-day series of meetings outside the Thai capital covered other regional issues including North Korea. The Thai Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the exodus of Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar's Rakhine state was discussed extensively.

In the roundtable talk with media, O'Brien said the United States is ready to help address the Rohingya problem but appreciated the key stakeholders who are now providing assistance, including China.

"We want to see China as a responsible stakeholder helping, and if China is involved...and they can be of assistance in economic or help promote human rights, I think that's fantastic," he said.

On the South China Sea, a draft of the chairman's statement says the leaders "took note of the concerns of some ASEAN member states on the land reclamations and activities in the area," without naming China.

China, which claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, has reclaimed a number of disputed reefs and built airstrips and other military facilities there over the past few years.

The United States, nervous about China's maritime advancement, has harshly criticized it as expansionism.

In the draft, the leaders welcome the resumption of working-level talks between the United States and North Korea in Stockholm earlier this year and hoped it will lead to further negotiations in the future.

The EAS comprises ASEAN -- which groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam -- plus Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea and the United States.

At the closing ceremony, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha transferred rotating chairmanship of the grouping to Vietnam.


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