In July, an worldwide arbitration case brought and won by Manila ruled that China’s building of numerous artificial islands was illegal and its claims to most of the South China Sea had no legal basis.
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Their reticence in discussing Beijing’s defiance of an global court order nullifying most of China’s claims contrasted with the outspokenness of US President Barack Obama, the Wall Street Journal reports.
China also promised additional funds for restoration work of the Preah Vihear temple and pledged to double its import quota of milled Cambodian rice from 100,000 to 200,000 tons per year, he said. “There’s been no explicit criticism or even mention really of the potential conflict situation in the South China Sea and China’s behavior and claims”.
In particular, a July worldwide tribunal ruling against Chinese claims to rights in most of the South China Sea was not emphatically mentioned at any of the meetings. The waterway has become a flash point in a broader tussle for regional influence between China and the U.S.in Asia. “Asean is becoming irrelevant”, Zhang said. At the time, Chinese President Xi Jinping said he would not accept any proposition or action based on the ruling issued unilaterally initiated by the former Philippine government. Its new President, Mr Rodrigo Duterte, wants to chart a foreign policy less dependent on the Americans. Obama brought that up again.
Obama cancelled a meeting with Duterte scheduled for Tuesday because of the outburst, and on Thursday urged the Philippine president to do his crime war “the right way”. While they later shook hands before a gala dinner, the damage was done.
Other claimants in the sea are the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei – all part of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc meeting in Laos – plus Taiwan.
Unlike during the Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in July, this week’s summit was in no real danger of fracturing over disagreement on the maritime dispute.
But, hours before the meeting, the Philippines’ Defense 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.
Beijing’s reclamation of shoals and coral reefs to build outposts in disputed areas inevitably heightens military tensions.
“China and ASEAN nations have the full wisdom and ability to manage the South China Sea issue”, Li said.
“Several Leaders remained seriously concerned over recent developments in the South China Sea”.
“ASEAN is key to the USA rebalance to Asia and more importantly is key to a peaceful and prosperous future for the world”, Obama said.
Obama on Thursday sought to put a focus on the arbitration ruling.
“I recognise 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”. During his talks with Duterte, Abe announced Japan had chose to provide two large patrol vessels to the Philippines.
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In Vientiane’s cavernous National Convention Center, where streams of delegations criss-crossed across marble floors and red carpets, the flurry of activity belied any major progress. “In some sense they are being self-isolated”, he said.
