South China Sea Reclamation work has been confirmed halted; this was confirmed on the sidelines of the ten-nation meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nation held in Malaysia on Wednesday. Wang Yi, Chinese Foreign Minister confirmed that China stopped the piling up of sands over the disputed reef. He also called other countries to speed up talks on how claimant states should conduct themselves in the disputed reef. "China has already stopped. You just take an airplane to take a look," said Wang Yi, when asked about the reclamation work in the strategic waterway.
John Kerry, U.S. Secretary of State, urged Wang Yi, China's foreign minister, to halt "problematic actions" and make way for an opportunity for diplomacy. Kerry reiterated U.S. worries over the "militarization" of features on the Chinese-held islands in the Spratly, according to the Christian Science Monitor.
Though the two diplomats did not have any agreement on any specific proposal regarding the dispute, John Kerry believes that he had a good meeting with Wang Yi and hopes that the diplomats might make headway in defusing the South China Sea disputes in the coming days. "We want to ensure the security of critical sea lanes and fishing grounds, and we want to see that disputes in the area are managed peacefully and on the basis of international law," Kerry said, according to The New York Times.
"At the same time, China announced they are moving on to Phase 2, which is construction of facilities on the reclaimed features. The Philippines views these activities as destabilizing," said Charles Jose, Philippine Foreign Ministry Spokesman. He also said that China had stopped reclamation because it had already formed its new islands. A recent satellite image displays that China had already built 3,000-metre-long (10,000-foot) airstrip on one of its seven new islands in the Spratlys. Experts said that this airstrip will give Beijing greater reach into the heart of maritime Southeast Asia because of its length enough to accommodate most Chinese military aircrafts, according to Yahoo News.
