Russia and China blocked a joint statement at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit mostly over objections to language regarding the contested South China Sea, an anonymous US official said.
A final draft was presented on Thursday evening (10 October). While the US, Japan, Australia, South Korea and India agreed to support it, the official said Russia and China claimed they could not proceed with it as it was.
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The official said the main point of debate was a reference to the UN convention on the law of the sea (UNCLOS). For years, ASEAN has been trying to negotiate a code of conduct for the South China Sea with Beijing. Some states insist this code of conduct should be based on UNCLOS.
According to a draft acquired by Reuters, the proposed statement referenced a 2023 UN resolution saying that UNCLOS “set out the legal framework within which all activities in the oceans and seas must be carried out.”
While China is a signatory to UNCLOS, it does not recognise a 2016 ruling by the UN body that says China’s claim to the South China Sea has no basis under their rules.
The ASEAN Summit took place last week, as countries sought to find consensus on a code of conduct for the South China Sea and called for a ceasefire in Myanmar and peace talks to end the civil war.
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By GlobalDataASEAN members include Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos, Brunei, Thailand, Myanmar, the Philippines, Cambodia, Singapore and Malaysia. The annual summit also hosted diplomats from the United States, Russia, China, Japan, India and South Korea.
Clashes in the disputed South China Sea, which China claims entirely while other countries claim parts of it, have risen over the past few months, particularly with the Philippines and more recently with Vietnam. There are fears that a miscalculation could draw the US into the conflict, which is obligated to defend the Philippines by a treaty.
“The South China Sea is the most valuable shipping lane in the world in terms of the value of trade that transits through it,” according to chief global geo-macro strategist at BCA Research Marko Papic. The CSIS China Power project estimated that in 2016, $3.4 trillion in trade passed through the South China Sea, making up 21% of global trade.
While Manila will continue discussions with Beijing, the Philippines Defence Minister Gilberto Teodoro said he doubted China’s intentions to agree on a regional code of conduct.
“Right now, honestly speaking, I do not see that,” Teodoro told reporters.
