Singapore expressed concern today over China’s plan to board and search ships sailing in what it considers its territory in the South China Sea, as tension grows over Beijing’s sovereignty claims in busy Southeast Asian waters.
Wealthy Singapore, home to the world’s second-busiest container port, is the second Southeast Asian country to publicly express concern over the new rules after the Philippines on Saturday condemned the Chinese plan as illegal.
The issue divided Southeast Asian leaders at a summit last month in Phnom Penh, where host Cambodia, a staunch China ally, sought to limit discussion on the mineral-rich sea, where China’s claims overlap in places with those of four Southeast Asian countries and of Taiwan. Full story
