President Rodrigo Duterte stressed during the ASEAN-China Dialogue the importance of adherence to the rule of law and global governing bodies over the South China Sea even as China is pushing for a framework of the Code of Conduct, a Palace official said during a press conference in Vientiane, Laos.
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Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and United States President Barack Obama “briefly spoke” at a holding room before a gala dinner last night, a Philippine official said, the Philippine online news site Rappler reported.
In July, a landmark global tribunal ruled against China’s claims in the South China Sea and said they had unlawfully restricted fishing access to the maritime feature.
Besides the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan oppose China’s claims and have counter-claims. This combination of September 3, 2016 photos provided by the Philippine Government shows what it says are surveillance pictures of Chinese coast guard ships and barges at the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea.
It was an apparent attempt to publicize its concerns before ASEAN leaders met with Chinese Premier Li Kequiang in the Laotian capital in a side summit.
The US, a treaty ally of the Philippines, has also been drawn into the dispute – prompting Washington to conduct so-called freedom of navigation exercises in waters near the artificial islands and fly aircraft over the territories. China has not commented on the accusations.
The Philippines has expressed concern about Beijing’s massive island-building over reefs, some of them claimed by Manila, in the South China Sea.
Relations were severely strained under Duterte’s predecessor because of the conflict.
Also at the meeting, the leaders have adopted the guidelines for an China-ASEAN hotline for maritime emergencies, and approved the application of the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea, or CUES, in the South China Sea.
Hours before the meeting, however, 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.
(AP Photo/Bullit Marquez). Philippines’ President Rodrigo Duterte adjusts his headset at the start of the retreat session in the ongoing 28th and 29th ASEAN Summits at the National Convention Center, Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016 in Vientiane, Laos.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said here Wednesday that practical cooperation between ASEAN members and China, Japan and South Korea should be promoted steadily so as to safeguard regional peace and stability.
China in turn accuses the USA of interference and using the ruling to stoke confrontation.
In July, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled against China’s assertion of control over the South China Sea.
The tribunal in its verdict on July 12 this year said the Philippines has exclusive sovereign rights over the area and struck down China’s claims over nearly of all of the South China Sea as invalid.
All of the countries are members of the 10-nation ASEAN, which treads a delicate path with the emerging superpower. Li said China’s development has benefited from the stability in East Asia, and its development also brings new opportunities for other countries in the region.
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In the short term, Glaser said she believed the risk of injury or death could be worse in civilian clashes than among navies patrolling the South China Sea, given the frequency and intensity of incidents in recent years.
