Asean operates on consensus, which means all members must agree on a statement before it is released.
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The dispute has been divisive for ASEAN.
“We should review our relationship with strategic height and long-term perspective”, Wang told the foreign ministers gathered in the southern city of Yuxi, in China’s Yunnan province, which borders on ASEAN members Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam. He added that the United States is creating “informal anti-Chinese coalitions or groups” to dispute China’s sovereignty.
Top diplomats from China and the 10 ASEAN countries agreed on Tuesday that the South China Sea issue should be handled properly, reaffirming the need to “jointly ensure peace and stability” in the area.
Bloomberg reported that ministers had initially agreed to the communique, but that it had been withdrawn after China lobbied Laos, the rotating chair this year.
The officials said “urgent amendments” would be made in this regard.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said certain unidentified countries had been trying to blacken China’s name over the South China Sea, confusing right for wrong and trying to control public opinion.
The Wall Street Journal later cited a senior diplomat from one of the ASEAN countries as saying that the bloc has decided not to issue a joint statement and individual statements would be released by member nations, if they desired. They committed to effectively materialising the 2016-20 Action Plan and preparing for the Commemorative Summit of ASEAN-China Relations in Vientiane, Laos, this September, including drafting the ASEAN-China Joint Statement on enhancing manufacturing capability and increasing collaboration via ASEAN mechanisms to deal with common challenges.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Phạm Bình Minh led the Vietnamese delegation to the event, which was co-chaired by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Singaporean counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan. “So by the time it was released, there was agreement”.
China claims almost all of the South China Sea – a vast tract of water through which a huge chunk of global shipping passes. “Western media insane thinking”, the editorial’s headline read.
Speaking at the meeting, Deputy PM Minh affirmed that Vietnam and ASEAN attach importance to ties with China, and underscored the importance of the ASEAN-China strategic partnership to peace, security and prosperity in Asia-Pacific.
The episode comes as the region braces for a ruling by a United Nations tribunal on a claim brought by the Philippines against China. A ruling seen as unfavourable to Beijing would undermine its claims.
Based on his remarks so far, Duterte, who takes office on June 30, is unlikely to follow Aquino’s hard line stance against China, said Jay Batongbacal, who heads the Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea at the state-run University of the Philippines.
Southeast Asian countries withdrew a statement that expressed the region’s deep concerns over tension in the South China Sea, where China is involved in protracted territorial disputes with some of its neighbours. The tribunal is expected to support Phillipine claims about the disputed waterway.
“Cooperation between China and ASEAN is far greater than any specific discord, including the South China Sea dispute”. China is the largest trading partner for the grouping.
Wisma Putra officials were getting calls from many foreign missions in Kuala Lumpur enquiring what had transpired at the Kunming meeting after the retraction news went viral.
Malaysia retracted the statement hours later, leading to confusion over whether there was indeed such a statement. “This meeting was a closed-door meeting and from the beginning there was no preparation to make a joint statement”. China had warned nations beforehand to not mention the territorial spats.
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The foreign ministry of Singapore, which is the ASEAN-China coordinator, did issue a separate statement noting “the serious concerns expressed by ASEAN foreign ministers over the developments” concerning the disputed South China Sea.
