“The Philippines has an unhappy history of extrajudicial killings and violence [against] journalists and others”, a USA official told reporters travelling with the secretary.
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Some members of the group have started to talk about a change in a clause in ASEAN’s charter on the need for consensus, a former Vietnamese diplomat told Reuters.
China has rejected the ruling and said it should never be the basis of any talks with the Philippines.
“Conversation will continue to proceed”, he said.
“So the foreign minister of the Philippines itself made a decision to remove and take out the issue of the verdict by the Court of Arbitration from the 49th Asean Foreign Minister’s Statement”, Mr. Sounry said.
The two issues are not related, he said, reiterating an earlier assertion from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). Hundreds took to the streets to protest Kerry’s visit.
Former President Fidel Ramos, who was offered by the President to head the Philippines’ negotiation with China, already accepted the offer to be the country’s special envoy to China. A compromise was reached: mention of the arbitration case was dropped in return for inclusion of the point that there was a need to find peaceful resolution in accordance with worldwide law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, to which the court referred.
Abella also said Duterte explained his war on crime and drugs to Kerry, who pledged US$32 million in USA assistance for “training and services” for law enforcement.
President Rodrigo Duterte and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry discussed a range of issues, including the South China Sea disputes, battling terrorism and personal interests like motorcycles and hunting, presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said.
Japan, the USA and Australia have been citing global laws for some time, but in fact they have been adopting a double standard towards worldwide laws, which they adopt only when the worldwide laws fit their needs, said the spokesperson.
While in a meeting with Mr Kishida, he urged Japan, which is not a claimant in the South China Sea disputes, to “avoid interfering in and hyping up the maritime spats”, according to state-run news agency Xinhua.
Rice also told Chinese officials, who included a top military officer, that USA military operations were created to contribute to peace and stability wherever they happened, including in the South China Sea, the official said.
“It is impossible for it to be irrelevant, it is legally binding”, he said. “That’s why we urge other counties in the region to lower the temperature”, he told a news conference after 90 minutes of talks with the ASEAN ministers.
Speaking to reporters in Vientiane, Philippines Foreign Minister Perfecto Yasay said the dispute was not between China and the United States but between China and the Philippines.
“We are trying to create a solution mindful of the rights of people established under the law.”
The fact that Asean issued a statement was a success because it covered “every single value of the rule of law”, he said.
The word war between the two super powers intensified when the UN-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague issued a ruling, which virtually favored the Philippines’ case against China. The ruling denied Beijing’s argument that it has sole possession of the waters.
But Kerry said the United States saw an “opportunity” for claimants to peacefully resolve the row.
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.
Wang attended the 49th ASEAN foreign ministers’ meet in the Laos capital of Vientiane.
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Also on the sidelines of the conference in Laos, Kerry met the foreign ministers of Japan and Australia and all three expressed “serious concerns” about the South China Sea disputes and Chinese land reclamation in contested areas.
