Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications of the increased naval and infrastructure presence of China in Southeast Asia for the UK's strategic and economic interests.

The UK has enduring interests in South-East Asia and is committed to maintaining regional security and stability. In the South China Sea, we are committed to international law, the primacy of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and to freedom of navigation and overflight. We oppose any action that raises tensions or the risk of miscalculation, take no sides in sovereignty disputes and encourage all parties to settle their disputes peacefully through the existing legal mechanisms, particularly UNCLOS.