ASEAN diplomats meet with China amid escalating tensions over Beijing's expansive maritime claims
VIENTIANE, Laos: Top diplomats from Southeast Asia met their Chinese counterparts in Laos on Friday for talks amid rising tensions over Beijing's efforts to bolster its expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea.
Several member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have territorial disputes with China that could lead to direct conflict and many fear could spark a wider conflict.
“One wrong step in the South China Sea could turn a small fire into a terrible conflagration,” Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said ahead of a meeting with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.
ASEAN members Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei are all at odds with China over its claims to nearly all of the South China Sea, one of the world’s most important shipping lanes. Indonesia has also expressed concern over what it sees as Beijing’s intrusion into its exclusive economic zone.
Meanwhile, the US and its allies have regularly conducted military exercises and patrols in the region to assert their “free and open Indo-Pacific” policy, including the right to sail in international waters, a move that has drawn criticism from China.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to arrive on Saturday to attend the ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting and is expected to meet with Wang outside the meeting.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also attended the meeting and has already held direct talks with Vice Minister Wang.
China is Russia's key ally in the war over Ukraine, and State Affairs Minister Wang Yi stressed “deepening strategic cooperation” between the two countries, China's official Xinhua news agency reported.
The EU's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, urged ASEAN ministers not to ignore Europe's conflicts as he opened a meeting.
“Russian aggression against Ukraine may seem far away from ASEAN, but its consequences, whether inflation, rising food and oil prices, or Russia’s efforts to spread disinformation, are felt by our people as well,” Borrell said.
This year, tensions between the Philippines, a U.S. treaty ally, and China have been rising. In June, a collision between a Chinese vessel and a Philippine supply ship near the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea raised alarms.
ASEAN members – Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Brunei and Laos – stressed at their opening meeting on Thursday that it was important not to get caught up in China and the United States' efforts to expand their influence in the region.
After the meeting, Marsudi said he stressed that the group should not become an agent of any power, otherwise “it will be difficult for ASEAN to become an anchor for regional stability and peace.”
State Councilor Wang did not mention the South China Sea in his opening remarks at a meeting with ASEAN ministers on Friday, instead emphasizing economic and trade ties with China.
But the Indonesian Foreign Ministry said the issue arose when Indonesia urged China to “participate in maintaining peace, stability and prosperity in the region”.
ASEAN ministers stressed the importance of completing ongoing work with China to prepare a code of conduct in the South China Sea, as the issue remains a “stumbling block” in China-ASEAN relations.
“Indonesia's position has been consistent: all claims should be resolved peacefully through direct dialogue between the parties involved,” Marsudi was quoted as saying.
China and the Philippines said on Sunday they had signed an agreement to end their conflict through negotiations aimed at establishing a mutually acceptable settlement on the disputed area without recognizing either side's territorial claims.
There is disagreement within ASEAN over how to deal with China's maritime claims, and the Philippines has criticized the bloc for its lack of support.
At Thursday's meeting, the Philippines pressed for the June clashes to be included in a joint statement to be issued at the end of the meeting. Cambodia and Laos, which are close to China, opposed the wording, according to a senior Southeast Asian diplomat who was involved in the closed-door talks and spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the issue freely.
The diplomat said Manila's proposal only mentioned recent incidents in the South China Sea that had caused “damage to property” and “injuries,” without mentioning specifics such as the names of the reefs or the militaries of the contesting nations.
The increasingly violent civil war in ASEAN member Myanmar is also a major issue, and the group supports Thailand playing a broader role, Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sanghiamphongsa said.
Thailand, which shares a long border with Myanmar, has already been involved in providing humanitarian assistance. Maris announced that it would contribute an additional $250,000 to the ASEAN Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance Coordination Centre, which oversees the plan to provide assistance to Myanmar.
Myanmar's military ousted Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government in February 2021 and suppressed widespread, non-violent protests demanding a return to democratic rule, leading to increased violence and a humanitarian crisis.
ASEAN has been pushing for a “five-point agreement” for peace, but Myanmar’s military has so far flouted the plan, raising questions about the bloc’s effectiveness and credibility.
The resolution calls for an immediate end to violence in Myanmar, dialogue between all parties concerned, mediation by the ASEAN Special Envoy, provision of humanitarian assistance through ASEAN channels, and a visit by the Special Envoy to Myanmar to meet with all parties concerned.
Myanmar was blocked from sending a political representative to the ASEAN meeting, and instead sent Aung Kyaw Moe, Secretary-General of Myanmar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
China, which shares a long border with Myanmar, also plays an important role by supporting the military junta while maintaining close contacts with several powerful ethnic armed groups currently fighting the junta.
In his opening speech ahead of the ASEAN-China meeting, Aung Kyaw Moe heaped praise on Beijing and pledged that the bloc would continue to work to deepen cooperation with China in all areas.
