China says US wrong on missiles

China said that deploying national defense facilities on the Xisha Islands has nothing to do with the implementation of a code of conduct on the South China Sea.

Deploying such facilities "is irrelevant to a comprehensive implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, or to the consultations over the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said on Thursday.

Hong's words were in response to speculation that China's missile deployment on "disputed islands in the South China Sea" contravenes the principle of the code, and that China appears not to be serious about consultations over the code.

In 2002, China and member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations signed the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea. They voiced agreement to work on the basis of consensus for adopting such a code of conduct.

In 2013, China and the ASEAN countries began consultations on the code. Hong said China and "relevant countries" had been actively pushing consultations over the code.

Western media have been following closely China's defense facilities on the Xisha Islands since Fox News reported on Tuesday that Beijing had deployed a missile system on Yongxing Island in the Xisha Islands.

Hong stressed that the Xisha Islands are China's "inherent territory" and are not so-called disputed islands. Equipping them with defense facilities is not militarization, but a move "completely within China's sovereignty", he said.

He said China has been deploying various kinds of national defense facilities on the Xisha Islands for several decades and it is nothing new and has nothing to do with the so-called militarization of the South China Sea.

"It is hoped that the relevant country would stop pointless sensationalization which has ulterior motives and do more to uphold regional peace and stability," said Hong, clearly refuting US Secretary of State John Kerry's Wednesday accusation of China in militarizing the South China Sea by installing a surface-to-air missile system.

Li Jinming, a professor of maritime policy and law at Xiamen University, said the code of conduct applies only to disputed islands, while the Xisha Islands, which have always been under China's administration, are not disputed.

China had taken "very active steps" and had made much effort toward reaching a code of conduct, but attaining this goal took time, Li said.

"China has always been coordinating, but neighboring countries should also invest (in such) efforts," he said.

Li added that actions such as making a unilateral request for international arbitration, which the Philippines had asked for, are against the spirit of negotiations set by the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea signed by China and the ASEAN countries.

Douglas Paal, vice-president for studies and director of the Asia program at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, stressed the importance of how both China and the US will view each other's actions, such as the missile system in the South China Sea and the THAAD system likely to be deployed in South Korea.

"Both sides need to anticipate how the other will see their actions, communicate their intentions, avoid surprises, " Paal said. "This process will entail hard work and effective responsibility systems."

At Thursday's daily press conference, US State Department spokesman John Kirby was challenged by Associated Press reporter Matthew Lee that it should be understandable from the Chinese perspective that US sailing military ships and flying military planes into the South China Sea raises tension and constitutes militarization.

Contact the writer at wangqingyun@chinadaily.com.cn.