At the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit being held between September 6 and 8, Obama called the results of an worldwide arbitration that denied Beijing’s “historic claims” to the South China Sea, “binding”, and promised more diplomatic and economic cooperation in the region, Voice of America (VOA) reported on September 8.
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Turnbull said the South China Sea decision in The Hague in July – where an worldwide tribunal upheld a complaint by the Philippines over China’s aggressive actions in the region – was “a fact, it is a reality”.
U.S. President Barack Obama, fifth left, poses for a family photos during the ASEAN-U.S. Summit Meeting at National Convention Center in Vientiane, Laos, Thursday, Sept. 8, 2016.
US President Barack Obama urged Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte Thursday to conduct his crime war “the right way”, as the pair clashed at an Asian summit over the crackdown that has claimed 3,000 lives.
Malcolm Turnbull says there is now “cautious optimism” that a code of conduct can be reached in the hotly disputed region of the South China Sea, despite the risky flashpoint overshadowing a regional meeting of Asian leaders in Laos.
The United States says it has no position on the territorial disputes but wants to ensure freedom of navigation.
China claims almost all of the sea, even waters approaching the coasts of the Philippines and other Southeast Asian nations. On Wednesday, the Philippines’ defense ministry presented images that showed Chinese coast guard ships vessels nearby disputed shoal in the South China Sea.
Beijing has rejected the ruling and continued its activities.
The July 12 United Nations ruling on the South China Sea ended a three-year-long global arbitration started by the Philippines, but China dismissed the results out of hand, with state media calling the verdict “waste paper”.
“We believe that this is a precursor to possible building of structures on the shoal”, spokesman Arsenio Andolong said, adding that China’s denial was “even more disturbing”. A month later, Prayut said in his first foreign policy speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue forum in Singapore that ASEAN should prepare to embrace a “new strategic equilibrium” where China plays a larger role in regional affairs.
A tribunal in July issued an “award” on the South China Sea arbitration, which was unilaterally initiated by the former government of the Philippines.
Though China recently announced a $600-million aid package to ally Cambodia, Beijing was unable to get Phnom Penh to block the statement, said the official, who requested anonymity. Larry is our main news editor.
China’s embassy in Manila said in a statement on Wednesday that there had been no dredging or building at the shoal and China had maintained a coastguard presence there for law enforcement patrols.
An artificial island at Scarborough Shoal could be a game changer in China’s quest to control the sea and raises the risk of armed confrontation with the United States, according to security analysts.
While ASEAN may have acquiesced to China’s demands not to mention the PCA verdict in any joint statement, there were indications the grouping’s position has stiffened somewhat amid reports China is rapidly militarizing numerous islands, reefs and atolls it claims.
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China shot back with comments aimed at the United States.
