Advertisement
South China Sea
This Week in AsiaPolitics

Coronavirus grabs headlines, but South China Sea will be Asean’s focus

  • Leaders of the Southeast Asian bloc and China are to meet on Friday
  • Talks are likely to focus on recent clashes and code of conduct negotiations that have stalled over Beijing’s demand to restrict US activity in the waters

Reading Time:4 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
A Chinese naval exercise in the South China Sea. Photo: AP
Bhavan Jaipragas
Asean leaders gathering on Friday will publicly play up their plans for post-coronavirus recovery efforts, but behind closed doors much of their focus will be on disputes over the South China Sea, analysts believe.
Advertisement
In particular, Vietnam – which will chair the meeting – will push hard for the bloc to take a tougher stance on China’s recent assertive actions in the waters, according to Southeast Asian analysts.

Hanoi had been expected to make progress on a code of conduct between the 10-nation bloc and China to govern the sea a key plank of its agenda during its 12-month chairmanship, but that plan has been scuttled by the coronavirus pandemic.

Friday’s meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations leaders – postponed since April – will be conducted via videoconferencing. While the scheduled biannual summit did not go ahead in April due to the pandemic, the leaders held an extraordinary meeting, also by video conferencing, the same month to address their response to the health crisis.

Observers said a series of episodes in the disputed waters involving China and various claimants in recent months – in the midst of the pandemic – meant the leaders were likely to discuss the matter at length during the summit.

01:21

Vietnam pulls DreamWorks’ ‘Abominable’ over South China Sea map

Vietnam pulls DreamWorks’ ‘Abominable’ over South China Sea map

Nazia Hussain, a senior analyst at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said Hanoi would “be conscious to make sure the most pressing items on their agenda follow through” after having had its chairmanship “overshadowed” by the public health crisis.

Advertisement