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Lebanese caution U.S. interference in Asian islands dispute "risky"

Xinhua, June 27, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Lebanese Communist Party's Secretary General Hanna Gharib accused Sunday the United States of interfering in South China's Sea islands issue.

Gharib said that the United States is attempting to interfere through pressuring the Philippines to raise the issue to the International Arbitration Court.

"Basically, problems or conflicts among neighboring states should be solved without any foreign interference particularly by those who are not involved in the matter," Gharib told Xinhua in an interview.

He said that "adopting dialogue instead to reach a solution to a problem among the concerned parties is in the best interest of the regional states and its peoples."

Gharib said that the Association of South Eastern Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries launched an initiative in this respect which China accepted, and henceforward all the regionally concerned parties should engage in dialogue to solve the issue for their best interests.

As for raising the issue to the Arbitration Court via the Philippines, Gharib commented "taking this problem to a third party such as the Arbitration Court opens the door for interference which is not regionally in the peoples' best interests, as it allows the U.S. to interfere, which does not work to solve the issues, but aggravates them instead."

Gharib asserted that "the United States is interfering in the issue not to solve it at all, but to gain more influence and enforce its will in monopolizing global decisions, as the region's peoples seek increased freedoms, sovereignty, free will and to get rid of the United State's imperialist regime."

He cautioned "this is a very serious issue with serious implications that no one will be able to control," adding that "they drew up a New Middle East map and look what happened. Now, they are inciting strife and wars among the Middle East population."

He advised the ASEAN populations "not to follow the United State's plan and learn from the Middle East's lessons. What is happening with us could happen to you if the United State's fleet sails into the South China Sea which is what we do not want to see happening and you should avoid it at whatever cost."

Gharib considered that "refusing China's appeal for dialogue is the problem," accusing the United States of "pressuring all countries attempting to liberate themselves from the United State's hegemony." Endit