Lee Hsien Loong Quotes

China's island-building in the South China Sea poses a threat to U.S. national security interests in the region.

The United States believes that every nation should respect international law, including in the South China Sea.

Americans deserve to feel secure in their own lives, in their own middle-class aspirations, before you go to them and say, 'We're going to have to enforce navigable sea lanes in the South China Sea.'

The U.S. must differentiate between controversial assertions of power, like those in the South China Sea, and fair reflections of China's growing contribution to the world, such as the new banks.

China's Nine-Dashed Line was deemed an unlawful maritime claim by an arbitral tribunal convened under the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention in July 2016, a position shared by the U.S. government.

Japan is opposed to any actions that escalate tensions in the South China Sea.

America is the one that leads the effort to make sure the freedom of navigation in the South China Sea is protected.

China believes that it has the rightful claim to a vast portion of the South China Sea, which is claimed by other countries.

America’s military bases around the world are centers of stability in unstable regions.

Israel is the largest American aircraft carrier in the world that cannot be sunk, does not even one American soldier and is located in a critical region for American national security.

It's easier for China to assert its maritime power by creating artificial islands in the South China Sea than by defying the U.S. Pacific Fleet with an aircraft carrier.

My basic advice to the Chinese with respect to the South China Sea is, 'Hey, guys, cool it.'

The Channel is an international waterway through which the Russians are quite free to pass - and over which we have no exclusive right.

We call on the P.R.C. to remain focused on supporting international efforts to combat the global pandemic and to stop exploiting the distraction or vulnerability of other states to expand its unlawful claims in the South China Sea.

What we are doing in the Pacific is we're flying, operating, and sailing wherever international law allows, and the purpose of that is to demonstrate that we are standing up for those rules.

We continue to urge China and other claimants to work constructively to resolve these disagreements, so that the South China Sea - which is so vital to the global economy - can be defined by commerce and cooperation.

I always ask two questions: How many countries have military bases in the United States? And in how many countries does the United States not have military bases?

Both President Obama and I shared the conviction that territorial and maritime disputes in the Asia Pacific region should be settled peacefully based on international law. We affirm that arbitration is an open, friendly and peaceful approach to seeking a just and durable solution.

Unlike the Afghans and Iraqis, the South Korean people solidly supported the American military presence, which was part of a United Nations operation.

The ongoing dispute over the relocation of U.S. Marines on Okinawa should be quickly settled. This isn't just an issue for the U.S. and Japan. It has regional implications.

I think it is not necessary at this time to put forth a grand vision such as an East Asian Community. What we must do before that is create scenarios for Japan's response in case of a serious territorial incident.

The U.S. needs to control the Middle East, the gateway to Asia. It already has military installations in Uzbekistan.

The U.S. has a stronger military than Israel, but, but don't short-change Israel, either. Don't short-change them.

The Strait of Hormuz is an international waterway, and it is not helpful for any nation to suggest that it would attempt to restrict traffic through the strait.

China is a major power in the Pacific and I think we are dealing with some common threats in that region: the whole issue of Korea and the stability of Korea, the whole issue of nuclear proliferation, the whole issue of providing free access to our ships that are operating in that area.