Duterte launched a barrage of insults against Obama after being told the USA president planned to raise concerns about a war on crime in the Philippines that has claimed 3,000 lives in just over two months.
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In fact, if a country is truly concerned about peace and stability in the South China Sea, it will support China to peacefully resolve the dispute with the countries directly concerned in accordance with worldwide law and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), Hua said, adding that China also opposes any attempt by forces outside the region to manipulate the issue or stir up trouble.
Expanding that presence with a military outpost is vital to achieving China’s ambitions of controlling the sea, according to security analysts.
Duterte wants China to abide by the ruling but he had pledged not to raise the issue during the meeting in Laos.
The statement, seen by Reuters, made no reference to a July ruling by a court in The Hague that declared illegal some of China’s artificial islands in the sea and invalidated its claims to nearly the entire waterway.
The United States has been a staunch ally of the Philippines and China has repeatedly blamed Washington for stirring up trouble in the South China Sea.
Another high-ranking official, who is not involved in the RCEP negotiations but has a close overall knowledge of Association of Southeast Asian Nations affairs, said “the leaders will read out a statement to re-demonstrate resolve and commitment since they can not conclude this year”.
“It reflects the growing importance of Asean in this region”, he said. He said both the countries are discussing the issue but gave no further details.”There are talks at this stage”, Abella said.
Although it is in the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), China and Taiwan also claim it falls within their sovereign territory, part of a broader territorial row across the South China Sea.
“Our safety cooperation needs to be achieved by East Asian countries, bilateral security discussions do not solve the region’s problems but only their own issues”. The tribunal ruling also rebuked China for its land reclamation activities.
Asean claimant states such as Vietnam and the Philippines have been trying to beef up their coast guard fleets in the light of major upgrades by China, which claims nearly all of the resource- rich waterway.
US President Barack Obama reportedly warned his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in March not to build artificial islands there.
Mutual trust: Najib and Li presenting a united front at the Asean-China Summit in Vientiane.
However, Duterte’s defence minister said ahead of the summit that a Philippines air force plane had flown over the shoal and spotted more boats than usual in a flotilla China has maintained since seizing the shoal after a tense standoff in 2012.
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Mr Duterte launched a tirade against Mr Obama on Monday after being told the U.S. president planned to raise concerns about a war on crime in the Philippines that has claimed 3,000 lives in just over two months.
