Leaders of the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and their Chinese counterpart are expected to agree to concluding consultations on the outline of a legally binding code of conduct in the South China Sea in the first half of next year, a draft statement said ahead of the meeting.
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“The landmark arbitration ruling in July, which is binding, helped clarify maritime rights in the region”, Obama told reporters.
China on Thursday said that US President Barack Obama should be neutral in Beijing’s maritime disputes with its neighbours.
Tensions have ratcheted up in the past two years as China has reclaimed land in massive dredging operations in the Spratly Islands, turning sandbars into islands equipped with airfields, ports and lighthouses.
This weekend, China and Russian Federation start military exercises in the South China Sea.
Both Duterte and Li attended the 19th ASEAN Summit to Commemorate the 26th Anniversary of ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations on Wednesday.
Its defence ministry expressed “grave concern” that Chinese boats were preparing to build structures at the triangle-shaped chain of reefs and rocks.
They met briefly on Wednesday night before a leaders’ dinner, but only exchanged “pleasantries”, according to the White House.
Philippine Communications Secretary Martin Andanar made these remarks on Wednesday, September 7, as he recounted the so-called “handshake meeting” between Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.
The United States has been a staunch ally of the Philippines and China has repeatedly blamed Washington for stirring up trouble in the South China Sea. Ties turned frosty when new President Rodrigo Duterte insulted US counterpart Barack Obama on Monday, prompting the cancellation of a meeting between them.
“These are realities of worldwide relations, and we have to navigate and find our position, find our way through such an unpredictable world”.
Although the Scarborough Shoal is merely a few rocks poking above the sea, it is important to the Philippines because of the fish stocks in the area.
China angrily vowed to ignore the ruling, describing it as “waste paper”, even though it had legal force through the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
This combination of September 3, 2016 photos provided by the Philippine Government shows what it says are surveillance pictures of Chinese coast guard ships and barges at the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea.
China pulled out all the stops to block any reference to the words “recent activities”, “serious concern”, “reclamation”, “militarization”, “loss of trust” and “need to respect legal processes”, but failed as all these phrases made it into the statement, said a senior US administration official who requested anonymity to discuss diplomatic discussions.
Li heads the State Council of China, which is “the highest organ of state power” and “highest organ of state administration there”.
He said the USA wants to build on its partnership with Southeast Asia and to promote a “rules-based order” in the region.
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Discussions on the COC between China and ASEAN – four of whose member states are claimants to parts of the South China Sea – have been taking place for over a decade, with little to no progress in creating concrete results on the biding set of rules.
