The EAS communique expressed only that “several leaders remained seriously concerned over recent developments in the South China Sea” but made no mention of The Hague ruling.
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Prime Minister Shinzo Abe renewed his call for China to comply with the ruling by a court of arbitration that invalidated China’s sovereignty claims in the South China Sea.
Observers said the outcome would likely please China, and provide a setback to both the USA and Japan, which have repeatedly urged Beijing to respect the tribunal’s verdict.
The Philippines said on Wednesday it was “gravely concerned” that Chinese boats were preparing to build structures at a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, shattering an appearance of cordiality at an Asian summit in Laos.
Even before Obama’s comments, a dispute between the Philippines and China had overshadowed East and Southeast Asian summits in Laos.
Beijing claims 90 per cent of the South China Sea, a maritime region believed to hold a wealth of untapped oil and gas reserves and through which roughly $4.5 trillion of ship-borne trade passes every year.
The dispute has become more significant since the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled in July that no country had sovereign rights over activity at Scarborough Shoal, a traditional fishing ground for Chinese, Filipino and Vietnamese. China has built seven such islands in the disputed, resource-rich sea, alarming neighbors and rival claimants.
The economies of ASEAN states are deeply intertwined with mainland China, giving Beijing some political leverage over them.
But Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said China has not done anything to alter the circumstances surrounding the shoal.
Obama assured ASEAN leaders that the USA would continue to help ensure the peaceful resolution of their territorial disputes.
A day earlier, Li had said that Beijing was willing to work with Asean countries in driving out interference and properly handling the South China Sea issue in accordance with the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.
The spokesperson claimed that the U.S. authorities had said they won’t take sides in territorial disputes and would support talks between the concerned parties. The tribunal ruling also rebuked China for its land reclamation activities.
Asian leaders played down tension over the South China Sea in a carefully worded summit statement, tiptoeing around the regional strains.
The U.S. military has also expressed concern over the possibility that China might turn Scarborough into another island, something that would give Beijing’s forces greater control over a swath of the South China Sea used as a passageway to the Taiwan Strait.
The leaders also adopted guidelines for a China and Asean hotline for use during maritime emergencies.
This weekend, China and Russian Federation start military exercises in the South China Sea.
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Instead, Cambodia opposed including an explicit mention of the United Nations tribunal’s ruling, the official said.
