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US Portrays ASEAN Meeting as Setback for China

by VOA News August 10, 2014

The United States portrayed the outcome of a meeting in Myanmar among Southeast Asian nations as a setback for Beijing's attempts to minimize territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

The ASEAN foreign ministers released a statement expressing concern over "increased tensions" and called for stepped-up talks with China, in what U.S. officials said was a setback for Beijing's efforts to play down the disputes.

But there was no specific mention of China in the final statement from the ASEAN meeting and the 10 nations did not take up a U.S. and Philippine call for a freeze on provocative acts in the sea.

A senior U.S. official said ASEAN countries' concern over China's maritime actions was at an "all-time high" based on private conversations, although their public statements were more guarded to avoid antagonizing China.

Despite China's rebuff of the proposal, U.S. officials characterized the outcome of the overall meeting as a positive one.

Code of conduct

Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters in Naypyidaw, Myanmar, which was previously known as Burma, that during all of the relevant talks, he underscored the need for a binding code of conduct in the South China Sea, involving overlapping maritime claims among a number of sovereign states in the region.

"We all underscored the importance of negotiations on a binding Code of Conduct. And I stressed the importance of everybody clarifying claims under international law and proceeding under the legal process through the law, through arbitration, and also through bilateral relationships," Kerry said.

Kerry said that the communique's language "goes far enough" despite China's rebuff of the freeze proposal.

The ASEAN Regional Forum security talks involved 27 countries, including Australia, China, India, Japan, Russia and the United States.

China has criticized involvement by the United States in the South China Sea issue, contending Washington is encouraging such countries as the Philippines and Vietnam to be more assertive as part of America's military pivot back to Asia.

China's foreign minister, Wang Yi, who met with Kerry for a half-hour on Saturday, told reporters at the ASEAN gathering that it is premature to move toward settling the territorial dispute based on international law.

He accused others of exaggerating the level of tension while also characterizing his country as maintaining restraint in the disputed waters, saying China is being provoked by other countries.

On the issue of democratic reforms in Myanmar, Kerry said that despite progress, there is still a lot of work to be done.

'Next year's election will absolutely be a benchmark moment for the whole world to be able to assess the direction that Burma [Myanmar] is moving in,' Kerry said.

Discussions with Myanmar leaders

Kerry on Sunday said Myanmar faced 'significant challenges' in its democratic transition but pledged Washington's support as the former pariah moves towards 'benchmark' elections.

Washington's top diplomat said he held 'frank' discussions with Myanmar President Thein Sein on the sidelines of Southeast Asian meetings.

​​Kerry said Myanmar was on an 'amazing journey' but said the country still needed to overcome 'significant challenges,' including ethnic conflict, religious violence, concern over press freedoms and the complexity of moving from junta rule to democracy, the French news agency AFP reported.

Thein Sein, a former general who shed his military uniform to lead a quasi-civilian government three years ago, has overseen broad reforms that spurred the removal of most international sanctions.

The changes include freeing political prisoners, scrapping draconian press censorship and welcoming opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi into parliament.

But U.S. officials told AFP that those are the 'easier' steps, with reforms facing a 'slowdown' as the country heads towards the 2015 polls, which are widely expected to be won by Suu Kyi's opposition party.

Kerry met Suu Kyi at her Yangon home late Sunday.

Steve Herman contributed to this report from Bangkok. Some information for this report provided by Reuters and AFP.