“The others are not concerned with that dispute”, Yasay told reporters.
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America’s top diplomat said the United States wanted China and the Philippines to engage in talks and “confidence-building measures”, saying Washington wanted to avoid “confrontation” in the South China Sea, after an worldwide tribunal rejected Beijing’s claims to most of the waters.
The US official said he was satisfied with the Asean statement, even if it skipped references to the July 12 ruling of the court based in The Hague, Netherlands. The tribunal said China’s claim has no basis in history or global law.
The Philippines and China should “turn the page” and hold talks over contested areas of the South China Sea after a tribunal shot down Beijing’s claims to the strategic waterway, US Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday.
“Like Cambodia, we explained that Cambodia was not involved in demanding sovereignty in the South China Sea, so Cambodia kept its stance neutral, and was not on any side”, Mr. Sounry said, adding that the dispute in the South China Sea was between the Philippines and China, not China and Asean.
Wang said in a statement Wednesday that the move by the three countries came at an inappropriate time and wasn’t constructive.
According to Reuters, a top official from Philippine Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that newly elected President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed former President Fidel Ramos to visit China and start informal talks over the maritime dispute.
Richardson said that as close calls between U.S. and Chinese warships grow more frequent, USA and Chinese protocols for such encounters have been effective at avoiding escalation or misunderstanding.
Duterte also met with Kerry later Wednesday, but presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said the pair didn’t strike any deals on how to handle the South China Sea issue.
“I expect the conversation to include more exploration on the question of what a constructive, positive and peaceful and lawful path forward looks like”, the United States official said, adding that the Philippines had behaved with restraint since the court ruling.
It sends out a positive message that China and the ASEAN will jointly maintain stability in the South China Sea, Wang said.
After ASEAN adopted the statement, Japan, alongside the United States and Australia advocating the rule of law, released their version of a joint statement calling on China to respect the ruling.
Along with the United States, Japan has been trying to establish an global coalition to call on China to respect the court of arbitration ruling by cooperating with countries that respect the rule of law and worldwide order.
China claims most of the sea, but ASEAN members Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam all have rival claims.
Yet, the four Southeast Asian countries, which have little clout in the face of China’s might, are reluctant to escalate tensions by internationalizing the dispute.
He also disclosed that the USA official had committed $32 million to the Philippines.
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Numerous countries make claims to oil and gas reserves in the area, and millions of ordinary people still earn their livelihood from fishing in the South China Sea.
