ASEAN, China to discuss South China Sea

November 19, 2012

by sagarmedia
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said the members should pay more attention to the cooperative relationship with partners outside the ASEAN framework.
Cambodia has close ties with China. Hun Sen’s remark apparently shows Cambodia’s consideration for China, which is reluctant to draft any legally-binding rules.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak have arrived in Phnom Penh. US President Barack Obama is expected to arrive on Monday.
Maritime security is likely to be a key topic for the discussions due to the maritime disputes between some Asian nations, including Japan and China. Leaders of the ten-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations have agreed to quickly conclude legally-binding rules over the territorial disputes between some members and China in the South China Sea.
ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan told reporters on Sunday the leaders had discussed the disputes that the Philippines and Vietnam have with China, and agreed to find a peaceful resolution.
ASEAN apparently wanted to demonstrate its unity before a meeting with China on Monday.
Leaders from Japan, China and South Korea will join the ASEAN summit meetings on Monday in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh.
The focal point of a meeting between the ASEAN member countries and China is whether the leaders can make substantial progress in establishing rules to peacefully resolve territorial disputes involving islands in the South China Sea.
In Sunday’s meeting, the leaders from the 10 ASEAN countries agreed to create a legally binding code of conduct to settle territorial issues in which countries such as the Philippines and Vietnam are in conflict with China.
But a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson told reporters the discussion regarding the code of conduct is not a major issue and shouldn’t impede relations between China and ASEAN member countries.