ASEAN diplomats meet China as friction mounts over Beijing's vast maritime claims
VIENTIANE, Laos: Top Southeast Asian diplomats met China's foreign minister in Laos on Friday for talks that come as friction escalates over Beijing's growing push to assert its vast maritime claims in the South China Sea.
Several members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have territorial disputes with China that have led to direct confrontations that many believe could lead to a wider conflict.
“One wrong move in the South China Sea will turn a small fire into a terrible firestorm,” Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said ahead of talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
ASEAN members Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei are at odds with China over its claim to sovereignty over virtually all of the South China Sea, one of the world's most important waterways for shipping. Indonesia has also expressed concern over what it sees as Beijing's encroachment into its exclusive economic zone.
Meanwhile, the United States and its allies regularly conduct military exercises and patrols in the area to enforce its “free and open Indo-Pacific” policy, including the right to navigate international waters, which has drawn criticism from China.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was due to attend the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting on Saturday and was expected to meet Wang on the sidelines.
The meeting is also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who has already held direct talks with Wang.
China is a key ally of Russia in its war against Ukraine, and Wang emphasized “deepening strategic coordination” between the two nations, China's official Xinhua news agency reported.
Josep Borrell, the top diplomat of the European Union, urged ASEAN ministers not to ignore the European conflict in their negotiations.
“I am aware that Russian aggression against Ukraine may seem distant to ASEAN, but its consequences, whether it is inflation or rising food and oil prices, are felt by our population, even as Russia works hard to spread disinformation,” he added. Borrell said.
This year, tensions have escalated between the Philippines — a US treaty ally — — and China. In June, a Chinese vessel and a Philippine supply ship collided near the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, sparking alarm.
ASEAN members – Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Brunei and Laos – stressed at their opening meetings on Thursday the importance of not being dragged down as both China and the US seek to expand their influence in the region.
After the talks, Marsudi said the group emphasized that it should not be a representative of any power, otherwise “it will be difficult for ASEAN to become an anchor for regional stability and peace.”
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 as the problem arose, Indonesia called on China to “participate in maintaining peace, stability and prosperity in the region,” Indonesia's foreign ministry said.
ASEAN ministers stressed the importance of completing the ongoing work with China on the preparation of a code of conduct for the South China Sea as the issues continue to be a “stumbling block” in ASEAN's relations with China, the ministry said.
“Indonesia's position is consistent, namely that all claims must be resolved peacefully through direct dialogue between the parties involved,” Marsudi was quoted as saying.
China and the Philippines said on Sunday they had reached an agreement they hope will end their confrontations, with the aim of creating a mutually acceptable arrangement for the disputed area without recognizing either side's territorial claims.
There are disputes within ASEAN over how to deal with China's maritime claims, and the Philippines has been critical of a perceived lack of support from the bloc.
In Thursday's talks, the Philippines pushed for the June collision to be included in a joint communique to be issued at the end of the meetings. Cambodia and Laos, which are close to China, opposed the wording, according to a senior Southeast Asian diplomat who attended the closed-door meeting and spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter freely.
The Manila proposal said the recent incident in the South China Sea caused “property damage” and “caused injuries,” without giving specific details such as the name of the shoal and the rival state forces, the diplomat said.
An increasingly violent civil war in Myanmar, an ASEAN member state, is also one of the main issues being addressed, and the group has encouraged Thailand to take a wider role, Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa said.
Thailand, which shares a long border with Myanmar, has already stepped in to provide humanitarian aid. Maris announced that an additional $250,000 will be given to the ASEAN Coordination Center for Humanitarian Assistance in Disaster Management, which is overseeing the plan to deliver aid to Myanmar.
The military in Myanmar overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021 and suppressed large-scale nonviolent protests seeking a return to democratic rule, leading to increasing violence and a humanitarian crisis.
ASEAN is pushing for a “five-point consensus” for peace, but Myanmar's military leadership has so far ignored the plan, raising questions about the bloc's effectiveness and credibility.
It calls for an immediate end to the violence in Myanmar, dialogue between all parties involved, mediation by the ASEAN Special Envoy, the provision of humanitarian aid through ASEAN channels and a visit by the Special Envoy to Myanmar to meet with all concerned parties.
Myanmar has been blocked from sending political representatives to ASEAN meetings and is represented instead by Aung Kyaw Moe, the permanent secretary of Myanmar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
China, which also shares a long border with Myanmar, also plays an important role in supporting the military regime while maintaining close ties with several powerful ethnic armed groups currently fighting it.
In his opening statement ahead of the ASEAN-China talks, Aung Kyaw Moe praised Beijing and promised that the bloc would continue to work to deepen cooperation with China in all fields.
