The officials said the talks between Li and the Southeast Asian leaders went quite smoothly, although they said that there was no reference to the July tribunal ruling in The Hague that invalidated China’s vast territorial claims on nearly the entire waterway of South China Sea.
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A summit of Southeast Asian countries and world powers is expected to let China off with a muted reprimand over its expansionist activities in the disputed South China Sea, according to a draft of their joint statement to be released Thursday.
The use of the phrase “some leaders” in the two statements underscores the fundamental problem ASEAN has in dealing with China – not all its members are willing to scold Beijing.
In his short opening speech, Obama noted that his attendance at the three-day summit was his eighth meeting with Asean leaders, making him the United States president with the most number of visits in Southeast Asia.
On Facebook, Dureza explained on Thursday, September 8, that Duterte and Li “had a chat” on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Vientiane, Laos.
The US says it has no position on the territorial disputes but wants to ensure freedom of navigation. He urged ASEAN nations to work positively with each other to ease the tensions and stimulate regional stability.
The government released the photos with a diagram showing the vessels’ exact locations at the shoal, which the Chinese coast guard seized after a tense standoff with Philippine vessels in 2012.
Barack Obama has reminded China that an global ruling rejecting Beijing’s territorial claims in the South China Sea is “binding”. China has rejected the ruling.
In the chairman’s statement on Wednesday, ASEAN said that land reclamation and “escalation of activities” in the waters had “eroded trust and confidence, increased tensions and may undermine peace, security and stability in the region”.
Hua also lauded the agreement between China and Asean to peacefully settle conflicts and facilitate dialogue through a code of conduct (under negotiation since 2010), during a bilateral meet in Laos on Wednesday.
China retaliated with its foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying saying, “The situation concerning Huangyan Dao (Scarborough Shoal) is unchanged”.
In backing the Chinese position, Putin also says any intervention by countries outside the region will only interrupt the steps needed to solve disputes in the South China Sea.
The meeting was held behind closed doors and it is not immediately known if the South China Sea dispute was raised.
Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei also claim parts of the South China Sea, a vital waterway for global trade, which is also believed to be rich in energy resources and fish stocks.
The ministry’s spokesman told reporters in Manila the pictures were made public because China’s ambassador to the Philippines had denied there was any new activity there.
The economies of ASEAN states are deeply intertwined with mainland China, giving Beijing some political leverage over them.
A reclaimed island at Scarborough Shoal could provide China a military base close to the Philippines’ main island of Luzon which is used regularly by American forces as it is about 230 km away.
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Speaking on the sidelines of a regional summit in Vientiane, Laos, Liu Zhenmin said that China and the Philippines had had “thousands of years” of good relations.
