"China will never use force to achieve its goals: Xi - AFP 17 Nov 2014
SYDNEY - Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday vowed never to use force to achieve Beijing's goals, including in maritime disputes, just days after US President Barack Obama warned of the dangers of outright conflict in Asia.
In an address to the Australian parliament, Xi said his giant and developing nation needed peace, noting that history showed no-one ever benefited from conflict.
"A review of history shows that countries that attempted to pursue development with force invariably failed," he said in a lengthy address in which he also reminisced about kangaroos and koala encounters during previous visits to Australia.
"This is what history teaches us. China is dedicated to upholding peace. Peace is precious and needs to be protected." But he added: "We must always be on high alert against the factors that may deprive us of peace."
Beijing is locked in disputes with four Southeast Asian countries over lonely outcrops in the South China Sea, and with Japan over another set of islets. The leaders of the US, Australia and Japan on Sunday called for peaceful resolutions of the maritime disputes. The day before, Obama had warned of "disputes over territory - remote islands and rocky shoals - that threaten to spiral into confrontation".
Xi said Monday he was open to dialogue. "It is China's long-standing position to address peacefully its disputes with countries concerned and territorial sovereignty and maritime interests through dialogue and consultation," he said. "China has settled land boundary issues with 12 out of its 14 neighbours through friendly consultation. And we will continue to work in this direction," added Xi."
Well said. It is a truth that ANY decent human being knows. Just a matter who is more greedy than the others!
Lessons for me are:
1. indeed if human being are good students of history, many 'histories' would not have repeated themselves! Maybe it is in the genetic codes of human being that it needs to 'test' histories!!??;
2. depending on whose sides you are and/or whose sides you side with, Chairman Xi's remarks can be lauded as well intentioned and China genuinely meant what its leader had said. On the other hand, if you are on the opposite side, you may well question the sincerity as the actual negotiation and the actions of China on some of the disputed territories clearly said: these are MINE! Lay off!!;
3. personally I feel that China can gain a lot of credibility and respect IF it is willing to state clearly and unequivocally that it WILL share the 'rumoured precious' resources under the water of those 'hotly contested' territories with Asean countries. It can pick a bone with Japan as Japan has Russia to contend with on its north, so will be a bit tricky for Japan to react to China's hard ball. Of course, this is partly due to Abe's renewed focus on getting the Japan Self-Defence Force to be more than just 'self-defence'! Also, his insistence to visit or pay respect afar to the A-listed war criminals in the Yasukuni Shrine is not helping.
Hopefully, China NEVER have to resort to force to achieve its goals as stated by Chairman Xi. This is TOTALLY do-able as long as one nation is not overly greedy about the precious resources that Mother Earth has created!
SYDNEY - Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday vowed never to use force to achieve Beijing's goals, including in maritime disputes, just days after US President Barack Obama warned of the dangers of outright conflict in Asia.
In an address to the Australian parliament, Xi said his giant and developing nation needed peace, noting that history showed no-one ever benefited from conflict.
"A review of history shows that countries that attempted to pursue development with force invariably failed," he said in a lengthy address in which he also reminisced about kangaroos and koala encounters during previous visits to Australia.
"This is what history teaches us. China is dedicated to upholding peace. Peace is precious and needs to be protected." But he added: "We must always be on high alert against the factors that may deprive us of peace."
Beijing is locked in disputes with four Southeast Asian countries over lonely outcrops in the South China Sea, and with Japan over another set of islets. The leaders of the US, Australia and Japan on Sunday called for peaceful resolutions of the maritime disputes. The day before, Obama had warned of "disputes over territory - remote islands and rocky shoals - that threaten to spiral into confrontation".
Xi said Monday he was open to dialogue. "It is China's long-standing position to address peacefully its disputes with countries concerned and territorial sovereignty and maritime interests through dialogue and consultation," he said. "China has settled land boundary issues with 12 out of its 14 neighbours through friendly consultation. And we will continue to work in this direction," added Xi."
Well said. It is a truth that ANY decent human being knows. Just a matter who is more greedy than the others!
Lessons for me are:
1. indeed if human being are good students of history, many 'histories' would not have repeated themselves! Maybe it is in the genetic codes of human being that it needs to 'test' histories!!??;
2. depending on whose sides you are and/or whose sides you side with, Chairman Xi's remarks can be lauded as well intentioned and China genuinely meant what its leader had said. On the other hand, if you are on the opposite side, you may well question the sincerity as the actual negotiation and the actions of China on some of the disputed territories clearly said: these are MINE! Lay off!!;
3. personally I feel that China can gain a lot of credibility and respect IF it is willing to state clearly and unequivocally that it WILL share the 'rumoured precious' resources under the water of those 'hotly contested' territories with Asean countries. It can pick a bone with Japan as Japan has Russia to contend with on its north, so will be a bit tricky for Japan to react to China's hard ball. Of course, this is partly due to Abe's renewed focus on getting the Japan Self-Defence Force to be more than just 'self-defence'! Also, his insistence to visit or pay respect afar to the A-listed war criminals in the Yasukuni Shrine is not helping.
Hopefully, China NEVER have to resort to force to achieve its goals as stated by Chairman Xi. This is TOTALLY do-able as long as one nation is not overly greedy about the precious resources that Mother Earth has created!
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