Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said at Tuesday's
regular press conference that the agreement made by Chinese,
Vietnamese and Philippine oil companies to conduct a joint marine
seismic survey of oil potential in certain areas of the South China
Sea is "a historic contribution to peace, stability and development
in the region."
He said the agreement was viewed as an important move in
following the principles set out in the 2002 ASEAN-China
Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.
The China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC),
Philippine National Oil Company and Vietnam Oil and Gas Corporation
signed the Tripartite Agreement for the Joint Marine Seismic
Undertaking in the Agreement Area in the South China Sea in Manila
on Monday.
Liu said China has been discussing practical cooperation in the
South China Sea with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
member countries in recent years and working to turn the South
China Sea into a friendly and cooperative bridge.
China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei and Malaysia have all
made claims to the area around the Nansha (Spratly) Islands. In
2002, China and the 10-member ASEAN adopted the nonbinding
declaration on conduct to prevent territorial disputes from
escalating.
Commenting on the rising tension between Indonesia and Malaysia,
Liu said China hopes the two countries can resolve their dispute
through consultations and talks.
Indonesia and Malaysia came close to blows earlier this month
when Kuala Lumpur awarded an oil concession in a disputed maritime
area. Both countries dispatched warships to the region but have
since agreed to hold talks.
Liu also said that China welcomes any improvement in
India-Pakistan ties.
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf is currently visiting India
to watch one of the India-Pakistan cricket matches, at the
invitation of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
In response to the Dalai Lama's recent statement in an interview
admitting that Tibet is a part of China, Liu said the central
government's attitude towards the Dalai Lama is consistent and
clear-cut: that is, it listens to his words while watching his
actions.
"The Dalai Lama should genuinely renounce the 'Tibetan
independence' stance, stop all kinds of separatist activities,
openly declare and acknowledge that both Tibet and Taiwan are
inseparable parts of China and that the government of the People's
Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the
whole China," he said.
According to the spokesman, Premier Pak Bong-ju of the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will pay an official
goodwill visit to China next week.
The premier will arrive next Tuesday, a day after US Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice leaves Beijing following meetings with
Chinese leaders. Those meetings are expected to focus on the Korean
Peninsula issue.
Liu did not give details about whom the premier would meet or
what would be discussed, although he did confirm that the nuclear
issue would be addressed.
Turning to the newly adopted Anti-Secession
Law, Liu said the United States "doesn't fully understand its
significance."
"We reiterate that this law is a law for peace," he said. "It's
conducive to opposing and checking Taiwan secessionists,
maintaining the stable development of cross-Straits relations as
well as the growth of relations between China, Europe, the United
States and other countries, and safeguarding stability and
prosperity in the Taiwan Straits and the whole Asia and Pacific
region."
"If they realize that, they will not have other opinions on such
a law," he added.
Washington on Monday said the law "does not serve the cause of
peace and stability" in the region.
White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said the law "runs
counter to recent progress in cross-Straits relations."
US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said it "only
serves to harden positions."
Liu also stressed that China can understand that some foreign
countries are concerned about the Taiwan question, but this cannot
change the fact that this issue is China's internal affair.
Turning to the environment, Liu said that China greatly values
the protection of endangered species and has banned ivory
trading.
"China joined the CITES in 1981 and has strictly complied with
the regulations," he said. "China's efforts in wildlife protection
have been widely recognized by the international community."
John Seller, the CITES senior enforcement officer, led a
three-member investigation group to China on March 7, during which
he checked the ivory processing and product trade in major cities
such as Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Guangzhou.
In China, ivory carving was once a fine art, along with the
carving arts of jade, stone, wood and bamboo. But the country
banned the trade of ivory in 1991 pursuant to the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
In 1997, CITES conditionally loosened the regulation on ivory
trade, after which many businesses targeted China as a destination
for the trade.
In May 2004, China began requiring all markets mark the ivory
products with a unified icon to control the flow of the products.
It set up a database on all ivory products to ensure no illegal
ivory enters the market.
Liu announced that at the invitation of President Hu
Jintao, President of the Democratic Republic of Congo Josef
Kabila will pay a working visit from March 20 to 23.
(China Daily, CRI.com, Xinhua News Agency March 16,
2005)