US urges ‘cooler heads’ to preserve Asia’s stability

US: The United States on Thursday called for cooler heads to prevail amid regional tensions over disputed island chains, saying it was vital for the world economy to preserve stability in Asia.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton held a series of meetings with Asian leaders, including talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, and then separate discussions with the foreign ministers of all countries belonging to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The stakes are high with simmering tensions between China and Japan over disputed islands in the East China Sea, and a separate row over another archipelago in the South China Sea.

“I think it would be fair to say that all Asian leaders understand that this is the cockpit of the global economy,” a senior State Department official said.

“With the United States still recovering, with Europe in a profound slowdown... it is essential that we maintain peace and stability in Asia,” he added.

Tensions have escalated in the South China Sea with the Philippines and Vietnam accusing China of stepping up harassment of their fishermen and ships in a bid to exert Beijing’s claims to virtually all of the strategic waterway.

ASEAN foreign ministers in July failed for the first time in the bloc’s 45-year history to produce a joint communique at annual talks amid divisions over whether to stand up to China over the South China Sea row.

AFP