‘Unrealistic to expect China to withdraw claim’

A former Singaporean official on Wednesday called for a diplomatic solution to the territorial dispute between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea.

George Yeo, a former Singapore minister of finance and military official, said “skillful diplomacy” between the Philippines and China would “enable both sides to climb in glory.”

Yeo said it was unrealistic to expect China to withdraw its claims in the South China Sea because these claims had been inherited from the preceding communist leadership.

Currently the chair of Kerry Logistics and a member of the Vatican Council, Yeo was in town as a keynote speaker at the ING-Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines “CFO (chief finance officer) of the Year” awarding ceremony Wednesday.

The Philippines has brought its territorial dispute with China  to the United Nations Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague for resolution.

China has refused to take part in the proceedings, vowing not to accept any decision by the tribunal.

Mutual interests

Yeo said there was a way for countries in the region to work together on mutual economic interests such as the laying of fiber optics to boost connectivity.

In the coming years, Yeo said, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and China would grow closer.

“You’ll find China central to the development of infrastructure in Asean despite tensions in the South China Sea,” he said.

He said infrastructure, communication, dispute resolution and currency cooperation were among the areas that Asean countries could work on with China.

Inherited claims

The 10-member Asean declared during its summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, last week the formation of the Asean Economic Community (AEC), as part of a larger Asean Community, which aims for political, security, cultural and social integration.

At the summit, President Aquino asked other Asean members to unite against territorial aggression.

“We believe that, as a rules-based community, Asean should not allow any country, no matter how powerful, to claim an entire sea as its own and to use force or the threat thereof in asserting such a claim,” Mr. Aquino said.

US caution

Yeo said even the United States—for all its rhetoric—was actually “involving [itself] in a careful way” in the region, noting that Washington and Beijing have strong economic ties.

He also noted that Indonesia has awarded a much-coveted $5.5-billion railway project to a Chinese-led consortium, beating Japan.

Yeo served in the Singapore government for 23 years (1988 to 2011), holding the positions of minister of state for finance, minister for information and the arts, health, trade and industry, and minister of foreign affairs.

Before 1988, Yeo served in various capacities in the Singapore Armed Forces, Republic of Singapore Air Force and Ministry of Defense, including chief of staff of the air staff and director of joint operations and planning in the defense ministry, attaining the rank of brigadier general.

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