As tension over South China Sea threatens to escalate, diplomats from Southeast Asian nations failed to issue their customary joint statement on Friday on how to deal with a territorial dispute involving China at a summit.
This is the first time in 10-member ASEAN bloc's history that foreign ministers failed to hammer out a final communique in Cambodia, which has held up progress on a draft code of conduct aimed at soothing tension in the flashpoint South China Sea.
This is because of the deep divisions within the 10-member bloc amid conflicting territorial claims in the South China Sea involving four of its members plus China and Taiwan.
China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, even waters close to the coasts of neighbouring countries. The Philippines claim the shoal is well within its 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone.
A sharp disagreement over whether to mention the standoff over the shoal has held up a joint statement being prepared by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said the failure to issue a statement lies with all
ASEAN members, not just Cambodia.
"I requested that we issue the joint communique without mention of the South Shina Sea dispute ... but some member countries repeatedly insisted to put the issue of the Scarborough Shoal," he told reporters.
Manila wants the standoff mentioned while Cambodia, a staunch Chinese ally that currently holds the ASEAN chair, has rejected the proposal.
Philippines slams Chinese intimidation'
The Philippines' foreign minister denounced Chinese "duplicity" and "intimidation" in the South China Sea, souring the mood at a regional gathering designed to soothe tensions.
"If Philippine sovereignty and jurisdiction can be denigrated by a powerful country through pressure, duplicity,intimidation and the threat of the use of force, the international community should be concerned about the behaviour," Albert del Rosario told the meeting, according to
an official statement.
He was referring to a recent standoff between Chinese and Philippine boats at a rocky outcrop called the Scarborough Shoal, which is claimed by both sides.
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said that all the countries must respect principles of international law in resolving the issue while asserting that freedom of navigation and access to resources in the area must be ensured in accordance with laid down principles.
"The message was that all outstanding issues must be resolved peaceful through a process of dialogue and discussion. Those dialogue and discussion should be taking place without intimidation or without any pressure tactics and it should be acceptable to all the parties involved," Krishna told.
A number of ARF member countries said that China is responsible for the simmering tension in the South China Sea region while US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged Beijing to accept a code of conduct for resolving the dispute, which was also strongly favoured by India.
China, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines all have competing
claims on South China Sea (SCS) where India's ONGC has oil blocks.
Vietnam accuses China
Vietnam has accused China of aggressive behaviour and yesterday Japan lodged a formal complaint over Chinese boatsapproaching islands in the East China Sea which are controlled by Tokyo.
ASEAN has already agreed the key elements it will propose in any negotiations with China, including using international law such as the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea as the basis for any dispute.
Jul 12, 2012
Clinton urges countries to settle South China sea disputes 'without coercion'
In an indirect reference to China ,U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has urged countries around the South China Sea to settle their territorial disputes
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