On July 12, the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague ruled against China’s historic claims in South China Sea, backing a case brought in by the Philippines in 2013.
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Beijing’s “illegal” island building in the South China Sea moved center stage at an Asian summit Wednesday after the Philippines produced evidence it said showed fresh construction activity at a flashpoint shoal.
However, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin said the discussion on the conflict at the event was “untimely and inappropriate”.
According to the draft chairman’s statement, seen by Kyodo News, ASEAN leaders are expected to “welcome” China’s vision of completing “the implementation of the code of conduct’s early harvest measures by the end of 2016” and “consultation on the COC outline in the first half of 2017 under circumstances without disturbances and to fast track COC consultation”.
Though Beijing recently announced a $600 million aid package to ally Cambodia, China was unable to get it to block the statement, said the official.
In this meeting, Duterte urged ASEAN and China to “be on the side of peace”, Andanar said.
Reports say that many Asean memebers are very reluctant to go against China for the South China Sea dispute.
There were, however, more genuine signs of the challenges the United States will face in coming years with China, starting with the diplomatic maneuvering at these meetings.
Hours before the meeting, however, the Philippines’ defence ministry released photographs and a map showing what it said was an increased number of Chinese vessels near Scarborough Shoal, which China seized after a standoff in 2012.
“The landmark arbitration ruling in July, which is binding, helped clarify maritime rights in the region”, Obama told reporters.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said that the ruling is now an global court precedent in the field of maritime affairs.
Obama also said at a news conference that he was not ready to concede that the USA military prison at Guantanamo Bay will remain open when he leaves office, the AP reported.
Since then, the USA has been stating that China should uphold the tribunal’s verdict. Instead, Cambodia opposed including an explicit mention of the United Nations tribunal’s ruling, the official said.
However, even before it was issued China voiced frustration on Thursday with countries outside the region “interfering” in tussles over the strategic waterway. China claims virtually the entire sea as its own, citing historical reasons.
The area is just 230 kilometers (140 miles) from the main island of the Philippines, where U.S. forces are stationed. Taiwan and four ASEAN members – Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei – also have claims, making it a hot spot of regional tension.
“I think Asean realised that regional peace and stability should be their priority and their cooperation and dialogue with China is essential to finding a solution to the maritime dispute”, he said.
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“Noting the vast potential of the RCEP to foster global and regional trade and growth, we urged our experts to redouble efforts toward achieving a modern, comprehensive, high-quality and mutually beneficial economic partnership agreement”, the draft statement said.
