READ BLOG:risky tussle: All parties to the South China Sea dispute must exercise restraint China and the ASEAN countries had inked the declaration in 2002, which is not legally binding, to ensure peaceful resolution of disputes in SCS.
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The region of the South China Sea that China claims as exclusively its own is disputed by Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, and Taiwan.
A draft of the concluding statement being prepared by host Malaysia makes no mention of the South China Sea, said a separate source familiar with the discussions, focusing instead on terrorism and regional security cooperation.
China objects to what it sees as outside interference in the disputes.
Leaders of the countries attending meet again at ASEAN and East Asia summits this month and Hishammuddin said those talks would give more opportunities to resolve differences.
“I had no expectation there would be agreement”, Carter told a news conference, adding that the important point was that the South China Sea was a “persistent topic” of the conference.
China and several other Asian nations have overlapping claims to islands in the South China Sea, a major shipping route which is also thought to be rich in mineral resources.
United States officials said China had lobbied members for the issue to be left out of the traditional closing statement.
While China has said it has no intention to militarize the reclaimed islets, it has built three landing strips on the islands, potentially enabling the nation to conduct constant air patrols in the region.
Referring to the sailing of guided missile destroyer USS Lassen through the islands and reefs claimed by China, he said that China firmly opposes USA action of sending a navy vessel without its authorisation into waters adjacent to the islands of Nansha/Spratley, threatening its sovereignty and security interests and undermines regional peace and stability.
On Tuesday, Chang and U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter met in the Malaysian capital for the first time since the incident but remained apart on the issue.
– Reuters pic, November 4, 2015.US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter will visit an American aircraft carrier off Malaysia on Thursday, a senior Defence Department official said, as US-Chinese tensions over the South China Sea escalate.
The clear absence of a joint declaration is a surprise as past Asean communiques have made extensive references to the South China Sea issue.
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The move was meant to press Washington’s assertion that it has freedom of passage, but it angered China, which considers the area to be its territorial waters. “It reflects the divide China’s reclamation and militarisation in the South China Sea has caused in the region”, the official who declined to be identified said.
