Mr. Kerry called on China to support the creation of a legally binding code of conduct that other Asian nations are considering to enforce rules of navigation and inhibit unilateral actions in the South China and East China Seas, said the official, who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity under standard protocol.
The secretary met with Yang Jiechi, a state councilor who deals with foreign policy, on the first day of the Strategic and Economic Dialogue, an annual gathering of senior officials from both countries where differences on issues including national security, the economy, climate change and human rights are aired.
“The secretary emphasized this is not a situation in which countries should or can be permitted simply to act unilaterally to advance their territorial claims or interests,” said the official, alluding to China’s dispatch of a huge oil rig to disputed waters off the coast of Vietnam in May and the virtual takeover in 2012 of a reef, the Scarborough Shoal, that is claimed by the Philippines.
Mr. Kerry also said efforts to create a “new status quo” at the expense of regional harmony were “unacceptable,” the official said.
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