Three Asean nations agree row will not hurt ties: Beijing
Brunei, Cambodia and Laos have reached deal with China, envoy Wang Yi says
China has agreed with Brunei, Cambodia and Laos that the South China Sea territorial dispute should not affect relations between Beijing’s and Asean, China’s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.
Four members of the 10-member Asean – the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei – have rival claims to parts of the South China Sea with China, which says virtually the entire sea belongs to it. China is the biggest trade partner of many Asean nations.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke to reporters in the Laotian capital, Vientiane, on Saturday and was quoted by his ministry as saying China had reached “an important consensus” with Brunei, Cambodia and Laos.
China to build up atoll in contested South China Sea, source says
The South China Sea problem was not a China-Asean dispute and it “should not affect China-Asean relations”, the ministry said in a statement, referring to their agreement.
China’s maritime claims are the regional bloc’s most contentious issue, as its members struggle to balance mutual support with their growing economic relations with Beijing.
The grouping said in February that land reclamation and escalating activity had increased tension and could undermine peace, security and stability in the region.
A military source and mainland maritime experts said China would start land reclamation at the Scarborough Shoal later this year.
Regular US dialogue with Asean would be positive for Asia
Zhang Jie, a Southeast Asian affairs expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said China was facing mounting pressure to solicit diplomatic support ahead of a ruling on territorial disputes at the UN arbitration court.
“With Europe and the G7 taking the side of the US, it is crucial to China how Asean takes the arbitration,” she said. “China could claim victory if Asean did not mention China by name, or did it in an inexplicit way in expressing its stance on the issue.”
Laos, which chairs the Association of Southeast Asian Nations this year, held influence in setting the agenda, and Beijing would draw support of other member nations, such as Thailand, Zhang added.
The ruling could come next month or in June.
