ASEAN diplomats meet China amid Beijing's major maritime dispute
VIENTIANE, Laos: Top Southeast Asian diplomats met China's foreign minister in Laos on Friday, with the talks coming as tensions escalate over Beijing's increasing efforts to push forward its major maritime claims in the South China Sea.
Several members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have territorial disputes with China, leading to direct confrontations that many fear could lead to wider conflict.
“One wrong step in the South China Sea can turn a small fire into a terrible firestorm,” Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said ahead of talks with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.
ASEAN members Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei are all at loggerheads with China over sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, one of the world's most important shipping lanes. Indonesia has also expressed concerns about what it sees as China's encroachment on its exclusive economic zone.
Meanwhile, the US and its allies have been conducting regular military exercises and patrols in the area to reaffirm its “free and open Indo-Pacific” policy, which includes the right to navigate international waters, drawing criticism from China.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to arrive Saturday for the ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting and is expected to meet Wang during the meeting.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also attended the meeting and held direct talks with Wang.
China is a key ally of Russia in the war with Ukraine and hopes to emphasize “deepened strategic coordination” between the two countries, China's official Xinhua News Agency reported.
EU High Representative Josep Borrell urges ASEAN ministers not to ignore conflicts in Europe during summit
“I know that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may seem far away from ASEAN, but the consequences, whether it’s inflation or higher food and oil prices, our people are also affected, despite Russia’s efforts to spread disinformation,” Borrell said.
Tensions have escalated this year between the United States' treaty ally the Philippines and China. In June, a Chinese ship and a Philippine supply vessel collided near the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, raising concerns.
ASEAN members Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Brunei and Laos all stressed at an opening meeting on Thursday that it was important not to get carried away as both China and the United States look to expand their influence in the region.
After the talks, Marsudi said the group stressed that it should not be a proxy for any power, otherwise “ASEAN will have difficulty becoming a fulcrum for stability and peace in the region.”
Wang did not mention the South China Sea in his opening remarks when he met ASEAN ministers on Friday, instead emphasizing China's economic and trade ties.
But the problem arose when Indonesia asked China to “participate in maintaining peace, stability and prosperity in the region,” the Indonesian foreign ministry said.
ASEAN ministers stress importance of ongoing work with China on drafting a South China Sea code of conduct as issues remain a “hurdle” in ASEAN-China relations, the ministry said.
“Indonesia's position is consistent, that all demands must be resolved peacefully through direct negotiations between the parties concerned,” the statement quoted Marsudi as saying.
China and the Philippines said Sunday they had reached an agreement they hoped would end the standoff and aim to create a settlement acceptable to both sides in the disputed area without recognizing each other's territorial claims.
There are divisions within ASEAN over how to handle China's maritime claims, and the Philippines has criticised a perceived lack of support from the bloc.
At Thursday's talks, the Philippines pushed to include the June clashes in a joint statement to be issued at the end of the meeting. Cambodia and Laos, which have close ties with China, objected to the wording, said a senior Southeast Asian diplomat who was involved in the closed-door talks and spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter publicly.
Manila's proposal said the latest incidents in the South China Sea had caused “property damage” and “injuries,” without providing specific details such as the names of the disputed reefs and forces of the state, diplomats said.
The escalating civil war in ASEAN member country Myanmar was also one of the key issues raised, and the group supports Thailand's wider role, said Thai Foreign Minister Marist Sengiampong.
Thailand, which has a long-standing border with Myanmar, has already provided humanitarian assistance. Maris announced a further $250,000 donation to the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance in Disaster Management, which is overseeing the delivery plan to Myanmar.
Myanmar's military ousted Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government in February 2021 and cracked down on widespread peaceful protests demanding a return to democratic rule, sparking more violence and a humanitarian crisis.
Asean pushes for 'Five-Point Consensus' for peace, but Myanmar military leaders remain indifferent to the plan, raising questions about the group's effectiveness and credibility.
Calls for an immediate end to the violence in Myanmar, for negotiations among all relevant parties, for an ASEAN Special Representative to act as a mediator, for humanitarian assistance to be provided through ASEAN channels, and for the Special Representative to visit Myanmar to meet with all relevant parties.
Myanmar was blocked from sending a political representative to the ASEAN summit, and was represented by Myanmar's Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs Aung Kyaw Moe.
China, which has long shared a border with Myanmar, has also played a key role in supporting the military regime while maintaining close contact with several powerful ethnic armed groups currently battling it.
In an opening statement ahead of the ASEAN-China talks, Aung Kyaw Moe expressed full appreciation for Beijing and pledged that ASEAN would continue to work to deepen cooperation with China in all areas.
