Li also shook hands and chatted with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday.
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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.
Officials said talks between Southeast Asian leaders and Li went smoothly, but there was no reference to a July court ruling in The Hague that declared illegal some of China’s artificial islands and invalidated its claims to nearly the entire waterway.
“There is recognition of the importance of the worldwide arbitrational ruling in July, which is legal and binding and which clarified maritime claims by the Philippines and China in the South China Sea”, Obama said during a press conference at the end of the ASEAN Summit in Laos on Thursday.
“I realize this raises tensions”, Obama said as he met with ASEAN leader, referring to a recent global arbitration ruling against China on the maritime dispute. The final version was not immediately released.
The US has been persistent in highlighting its concerns about Beijing’s claims over the sea and has even conducted several military drills in the region. Obama brought that up again.
Speaking at a summit of South-East Asian leaders, Obama said: ‘I recognize this raises tensions but I also look forward to discussing how we can constructively move forward together to lower tensions and promote diplomacy and stability’.
“The island has been blockaded since 2012 but hasn’t been built up so this would be new”, said Ashley Townshend, a research fellow at the United States Study Centre at the University of Sydney and a visiting fellow at the Center for Asia-Pacific Cooperation and Governance at Fudan University in Shanghai.
Turnbull said the Indonesian president had given a strong signal he wanted to move the trade deal along and he said, when it came to dealing with the threat of terrorism, the two leaders had agreed “tolerance is one of the major weapons against violent extremism”.
Beijing claims 90 per cent of the South China Sea, a maritime region believed to hold a wealth of untapped oil and gas reserves and through which roughly $4.5 trillion of ship-borne trade passes every year.
The leaders “reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security and freedom of navigation in and over-flight in the South China Sea”, according a draft statement seen by Reuters. “We stressed the importance for the parties concerned to resolve their disputes by peaceful means, in accordance with universally recognized principles of worldwide laws”, it said.
Obama also assured ASEAN leaders that the USA would continue to help to ensure the peaceful resolution of their territorial disputes.
RCEP leaders from 16 countries – the 10 ASEAN states and its six dialogue partners – will adopt a statement on the RCEP negotiations at a ceremony after the East Asia Summit, which they will attend on Thursday.
Officials said that talks on Wednesday between ASEAN leaders and China’s Li had gone smoothly. The ASEAN statement made no mention of the tribunal.
Only two countries outside the region proposed to push the “arbitration”, Liu said, adding that instead of solving problems, such a meddling act can only expand differences and contradictions, to which China is firmly opposed.
Japan has claimed ownership of the islands since 1895, and says there was never any trace of them being under the control of China’s Qing Dynasty.
Four ASEAN members – Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Brunei – claim territorial rights in the South China Sea.
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Duterte “has been sending messages for improving relations with China since he took office”.
