South China Sea Dispute Sinks ASEAN Joint Statement
by VOA News November 03, 2015
A meeting of ASEAN defense ministers Wednesday in Malaysia did not include the signing of any joint statement, after China lobbied to block any mention of the contentious South China Sea.
For years, China and others in the region, most notably the Philippines and Vietnam, have pressed overlapping territorial claims in the South China Sea, but tensions there have increased recently as China has constructed man-made islands.
Wednesday's talks included the 10 members of ASEAN plus China, the United States, Australia, India and Japan. A U.S. defense official said it was better that the group issue no joint statement rather than one that did not include any mention of the South China Sea.
China's Defense Ministry said it regretted that the defense ministers' meeting had failed to issue a joint declaration and accused 'certain countries' outside of Southeast Asia of being responsible for the cancellation of a statement.
The U.S. has called on China to stop building in the South China Sea, characterizing the activity as destabilizing for the region. Chinese officials have defended the construction as a peaceful effort meant instead to aid shipping through the disputed waterway.
Last week, the U.S. sailed a guided missile destroyer within 22 kilometers of the Subi Reef in the Spratly Islands archipelago in what the head of the U.S. Pacific Command called a routine exercise aimed at protecting 'the rights, freedoms, and lawful uses of the sea and airspace guaranteed to all nations under international law.'
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