From the Philippine News Agency (Jun 30): ASEAN urges engagement with China in South China Sea disputes
The foreign ministers of the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) said on Sunday that they saw the need to maintain the positive momentum in the interaction between ASEAN countries andChina over the disputes in the South China Sea .
The statement encouraging China-ASEAN engagement was included in a joint communique issued after a meeting of the ASEAN foreign ministers inBandar Seri Begawan , where Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario launched a surprising, if not deliberately bizarre, accusation of militarization of the South China Sea .
Rosario voiced "serious concern over the increasing militarization of the South China Sea," despite the fact that about 1,000 soldiers from the Philippines and the United States are staging a joint exercise in the South China Sea .
The joint communique mainly focused on the efforts of the ASEAN to push for the building of an ASEAN Community by the end of 2015 and improve interconnectivity among the member states, including a plan for a common visa.
It also touched on some of the hot issues including theSouth China Sea disputes.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting,Singapore 's Foreign Minister K. Shanmugam described the closed-door discussions as being positive and constructive.
The issuance of the joint communique helped avoid a repeat of the embarrassing failure to produce a joint statement at the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' meeting inPhnom Penh last year as the Philippines tried to force contents related to its island disputes with China into the joint statement.
Shanmugam said that what the ASEAN wants is for the competing sovereign claims to be dealt with in a manner that is peaceful and in accordance with international law.
"The specific claims, who owns what, whether it'sPhilippines , China , Vietnam , Malaysia , Brunei , that is not something that non-claimant states like Singapore can get involved," he said.
The ASEAN said in the joint communique that it "appreciated the exchange of views on the issues including initiatives and approaches to enhance trust, confidence and dialogue, and address incidents in theSouth China Sea ."
"We underscored the importance of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), ASEAN's Six-Point Principles on theSouth China Sea , and the ASEAN-China Joint Statement on the 10th anniversary of the DOC," it said.
China and ASEAN concluded the DOC in 2002 and have been pushing for efforts to start talks on a Code of Conduct.
Shanmugam saidChina has told its ASEAN neighbors that it believes in peaceful co-existence and development and being a partner in peace.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who is in Brunei for a meeting with ASEAN counterparts, said later Sunday that China's new leadership is committed to continuously consolidate and deepen the strategic partnership with the ASEAN and adheres to friendly consultations to properly handle its problems with some ASEAN countries.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=&sid=&nid=&rid=539595
The foreign ministers of the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) said on Sunday that they saw the need to maintain the positive momentum in the interaction between ASEAN countries and
The statement encouraging China-ASEAN engagement was included in a joint communique issued after a meeting of the ASEAN foreign ministers in
The joint communique mainly focused on the efforts of the ASEAN to push for the building of an ASEAN Community by the end of 2015 and improve interconnectivity among the member states, including a plan for a common visa.
It also touched on some of the hot issues including the
Speaking to reporters after the meeting,
The issuance of the joint communique helped avoid a repeat of the embarrassing failure to produce a joint statement at the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' meeting in
Shanmugam said that what the ASEAN wants is for the competing sovereign claims to be dealt with in a manner that is peaceful and in accordance with international law.
"The specific claims, who owns what, whether it's
The ASEAN said in the joint communique that it "appreciated the exchange of views on the issues including initiatives and approaches to enhance trust, confidence and dialogue, and address incidents in the
"We underscored the importance of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), ASEAN's Six-Point Principles on the
Shanmugam said
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who is in Brunei for a meeting with ASEAN counterparts, said later Sunday that China's new leadership is committed to continuously consolidate and deepen the strategic partnership with the ASEAN and adheres to friendly consultations to properly handle its problems with some ASEAN countries.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=&sid=&nid=&rid=539595