The US Senate has approved Senate Resolution 167, which calls for a
peaceful settlement of disputes in the East Sea and East China
Sea with overwhelming majority.
The document was sponsored by
Senator Robert Menendez with Senators Bob Corker, Marco Antonio Rubio
and Ben Cardin, under the Asia-Pacific Sub-committee, being the
co-authors.
The resolution urges countries contesting ownership
of parts of the two sea areas to create and approve a code of conduct to
avoid conflicts.
The resolution is asking the US Senate to
condemn the use of coercion, threats, or force by naval, maritime
security, or fishing vessels and military or civilian aircraft in the
East Sea and the East China Sea to assert maritime or territorial
claims or alter the status quo.
Senator Menendez said in a
statement that the US will intervene in disputes in the sea areas via
diplomatic channel because “with a long history of engagement in the
region, the US has a vital interest in working with all nations in
developing, institutionalising, and sustaining a rules-based order for
the area. That starts with putting in place effective mechanisms to
manage maritime disputes that destabilize the region, and supporting and
encouraging the peaceful resolution of disputes in the Asia-Pacific
maritime domain.”
On his website, Menendez wrote, “The
territorial disputes at play in the Asia-Pacific region today are not
about the past, but very much about the future of a region poised to
serve as an epicenter for global economic development for the 21st
century.” -VNA