Kerry’s comment came on the sidelines of an ASEAN foreign ministers meeting in Laos, where he met with China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday.
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Mr. Sounry said he considered accusations that Cambodia’s stance on the South China Sea – that disputes in its regard should be resolved peacefully only between the parties involved – in return for aid and investment from China was an insult.
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said a page had been turned after the “deeply flawed” ruling and it was time to lower the temperature in the dispute.
“Now is the time we will test whether you are protectors of peace or agitators”.
Several ASEAN member nations, including Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines, had – independently – already expressed criticism toward China’s territorial claims over the majority (some 80 percent) of the South China Sea.
Meanwhile, the U.S. -ASEAN foreign ministers meeting was held Monday evening.
This month, an global tribunal in the Hague deemed the bulk of China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea to have no legal basis under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Also, Japan has tensions with China in the neighboring East China Sea, with Chinese vessels, including military ships, repeatedly entering Japanese waters around the Senkaku Islands, which are claimed by Beijing.
Abella said the President, who has waged an all-out war against illegal drugs and crimes in the country, appreciates the support given by the United States.
Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday paid a visit on President Rodrigo Duterte in Malacañang.
A senior USA official said Washington and Manila “are cooperating intensively not only on regional and global issues, but also in very practical issues such as law enforcement and maritime capacity building, implementation of our EDCA”.
China, which also is attending the conference, has rejected The Hague-based tribunal’s decision, saying it has a historical claim over most of South China Sea.
“China and the Philippines hope to engage each other in moving forward for the peaceful implementation of the arbitral award”, Yasay said at a joint press conference with Kerry on Tuesday.
A tribunal based in The Hague this month ruled that China’s claim to most of the strategic waterway was inconsistent with worldwide law.
On Tuesday, Kerry said he would urge the Philippines to continue talks with China regarding the sea.
Any suggestion that China bought Cambodia’s support with soft loans of US$600 million a week before the meeting was an “insult”, Sounry said.
The Philippines, which brought the dispute to the United Nations -backed court, bowed to pressure and withdrew its request to mention the verdict after vehement objections from Cambodia, China’s closest ASEAN ally.
The case was brought by a fellow South China Sea claimant, the Philippines.
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A statement issued later by the White House said that Rice discussed with China’s top diplomat, State Councilor Yang Jiechi, U.S. views on human rights, maritime issues, and the treatment of U.S. businesses and nongovernmental organizations operating in China.
