Asean comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam.
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India’s minister of state for external affairs, VK Singh, who attended both the summits, said, “We share the concerns expressed by our ASEAN colleagues about the evolving situation in the South China Sea”.
The Chinese statement made no mention of Kerry or his criticism at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) meetings in Kuala Lumpur, where discussion was dominated by China’s creation of seven artificial islands in the Spratly archipelago on the Philippine side of the South China Sea.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday accused China of restricting navigation and overflights in the contested waterway, despite giving assurances that such movements would not be impeded.
China has hit out at Japan and the Philippines for teaming up during a regional forum to attack Beijing over its policy in the disputed South China Sea.
Part of Russia’s response has been its growing military cooperation with China, which Lavrov said will help to confront new global threats and challenges.
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Malaysia must have better data interconnected to the invention.
But fed up with China’s increasing assertiveness at sea to the disadvantage of smaller Asian countries, the Philippines, another U.S ally, brought its case to a United Nations arbitration tribunal in The Hague in 2013.
“Let me be clear: The United States will not accept restrictions on freedom of navigation and overflight, or other lawful uses of the sea”, he told reporters.
Arase said that if China decided to pursue a “balance of power” approach in the South China Sea issue, the United States will “change its strategy from engagement to China to probably lean toward stronger hedging”.
Japan has boosted security cooperation this year with some of the claimants at loggerheads with China, in particular the Philippines. “The paragraphs relating to the South China Sea are causing some problems”, he added.
“We have taken note of the communique”, Hua said.
China is the real victim in the South China Sea, Wang told the forum, pointing to what he said was the “occupation” of some of its islands there, including by the Philippines.
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In fresh evidence of China’s assertiveness, Japan revealed last month a map and aerial photos of 12 offshore structures in the East China Sea, showing Beijing’s unilateral gas field development near the median line between China’s shoreline and that of Japan.
