Q: Secretary-General Le Luong Minh of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) said in an interview that China's claim over the South China Sea based on "the nine-dash line" is illegal, and what is happening over the South China Sea further complicates the situation and impedes the building of the ASEAN community. What is China's comment?
A: China's sovereignty and its claims to the relevant rights over the South China Sea are backed with abundant historical and jurisprudential evidence. Our position on the South China Sea issue is clear and consistent. We support the building of the ASEAN community, but ASEAN is not a party concerned to relevant disputes over the South China Sea.
Mr. Le Luong Minh's official capacity is the Secretary-General of ASEAN. However, he has made tendentious remarks on several occasions that are not only contradictory to the facts, but also highly inappropriate for someone of his position. This seriously deviates from the neutral stance that ASEAN and its Secretariat should uphold on relevant issues and damages ASEAN's image as an international organization in the region. ASEAN is not owned by one particular country. It belongs to the whole ASEAN family. One piece of advice for Mr. Le Luong Minh is that he should do his job as the Secretary-General and strictly abide by the neutral stance that ASEAN takes on the South China Sea issue. Instead of using public office for personal interests, he should play a more positive role in the sound development of China-ASEAN relations.
Q: On March 9, US President Obama declared a national emergency to deal with the threat posed by Venezuela to the national security and foreign policy of the US. Venezuelan President Maduro strongly opposed external interference, urged the National Assembly to declare national emergency on the US, and recalled Venezuela's charge d'affaires from Washington DC. What is China's comment?
A: We have noted relevant report. It is our consistent position that all countries should develop their relations on the basis of equality, mutual respect and non-interference in domestic affairs. This world-recognized norm guiding international relations is applicable to any pair of bilateral ties, including Venezuela-US ties, and should be observed faithfully.
Venezuela is an important country in Latin America. Venezuela's domestic affairs should be handled by the Venezuelan people. China believes that the government and the people of Venezuela have the capacity to deal with their domestic affairs properly. We hope Venezuela and the US can handle their relations on the basis of equality, mutual respect and non-interference in domestic affairs, which not only serves the common interests of the two countries and their people, but also contributes to peace and stability of the Latin American region.
After the press conference, the following question was raised: the latest documents released by Edward Snowden show that New Zealand's Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) collects data on communications from about 20 nations, including China, Japan, the DPRK, and the South Pacific island countries, and passes it on to the US, the UK, Canada, Australia and others. What is China's comment on this?
Hong Lei said that China is concerned about relevant report. We attach great importance to the cyber security issue. We will firmly safeguard our security interests and continue to guarantee our cyber and information security with concrete measures.
At present, the cyber space is riddled with chaos and uncertainty. China proposes to settle disputes through dialogue and formulate codes to regulate cyber space behaviors that are acceptable to all sides.
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