SINGAPORE, March 6 — Responding to Workers’ Party Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Gerald Giam’s concerns about China’s building on reefs and islands posing threats to freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, Minister for Foreign Affairs K Shanmugam said yesterday that freedom of navigation is an economically existential issue for Singapore.

Giam also wondered how Singapore and Asean could respond should China’s actions impinge on freedom of navigation. “Beijing has confirmed at the highest level — Prime Minister Li Keqiang himself — that China guarantees freedom of navigation in the South China Sea,” said Shanmugam.

Pointing out that Giam’s question is hypothetical, the minister said: “We cannot presuppose whether China is entitled to build on these islands and reefs... It depends on whether China owns those islands and to what extent it has an exclusive economic zone... These are questions on which we take no position. They are to be sorted out (among) various claimant states and subject to international law.”

Shanmugam said platforms had been set up for Asean and China to discuss such issues. “Our task is to focus on the Code of Conduct to make sure how the parties interact with each other while they engage each other in the high seas.” — TODAY