Wednesday, June 1, 2011

USA Guarding South China Sea

A very noble thing to do i must say. Nothing like American Security.

KUALA LUMPUR: The United States Navy plans to engage in unofficial dialogues with countries seeking territorial sovereignty in the South China Sea to explain the reason behind its presence there.

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the Americans wanted to underscore that their presence was merely to maintain stability in the area, which is said to be rich in hydrocarbon resources. "They also want to ensure that the natural resources could be shared and used to develop the countries concerned," he said after receiving the commander of the US Pacific Command, Admiral Robert Williard, at the Defence Ministry here yesterday.

Ahmad Zahid said such dialogues were aimed at preventing any conflict among the countries with overlapping maritime claims in the South China Sea.

"The US wants to explain that its presence is to safeguard the area, although there's no official international agreement to this effect." The Spratly Islands in the South China Sea are being claimed wholly or partly by Malaysia, Vietnam, China, Taiwan, Brunei and the Philippines.

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