France’s top diplomat urged Beijing on Dec 4 to think ince again about its assertive disposition in the South China Sea, saying the “world doesn’t need a new destruction “. Beijing has been strengthening military drills in the strategically important Taiwan Strait, while the Chinese coast guard has been accused of criticizing Filipino fishing boats in disputed waters. Australia criticised Beijing in November for its “unsafe and unprofessional” conduct at sea, saying one of its navy divers was wounded by sonar pulses from an approaching Chinese warship.
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, speaking at the Australian Press Club in Canberra, revealed that China must do its work to bring down the level of stress in the Asia-Pacific area. “We are obviously worried by what befell a few days ago to the Australian navy, as well as what befell to the Philippines a few weeks ago,” she said. “peace and stability must prevail in the Taiwan Strait, and certainly the world doesn’t need a new crisis,” she said.
Ms Colonna said passionately China should be free to pursue its “economic rise”, but that in exchange it required to meet international anticipations on issues such as human rights. “For all these reasons, we will keep involving China constructively, and there are actually encouraging signs,” she said. “Our attempts are paying off somehow and creating optimistic trends of cooperation.” Beijing claims most of the South China Sea, which includes waters and islands close to the shores of its neighbours.