Xi tells Southeast Asian leaders China will not seek dominance

Gulf Today Report

Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Monday said his country will not seek dominance over Southeast Asia or bully its smaller neighbours, amid ongoing friction over the South China Sea.

Xi told leaders of the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at a summit on Monday, held to mark the 30th anniversary of relations between China and the grouping.

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Two diplomats said ASEAN member Myanmar was not represented at Monday's meeting after its military-installed government refused to allow an ASEAN envoy to meet with ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other arrested politicians. Military ruler Gen. Min Aung Hlaing was also barred from representing his country at the last ASEAN summit.

Myanmar's ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi. File photo

"China was, is, and will always be a good neighbour, good friend, and good partner of ASEAN," Chinse state media quoted Xi as saying.

China has repeatedly sought to overcome concerns about its rising power and influence in the region, particularly its claim to virtually the entire South China Sea that overlaps the claims of ASEAN members Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and the Philippines.

"China resolutely opposes hegemonism and power politics, wishes to maintain friendly relations with its neighbors and jointly nurture lasting peace in the region and absolutely will not seek hegemony or even less, bully the small," Xi said, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

Xi’s remarks came days after Chinese coast guard ships blocked and sprayed a powerful stream of water at two Philippine boats carrying supplies to troops at a disputed South China Sea shoal and forced them to turn back.