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As tension over South China Sea threatens to escalate, diplomats from Southeast Asian nations failed to issue their customary joint statement on Friday on how to deal with a territorial dispute involving China at a summit.
This is the first time in 10-member ASEAN bloc's history that foreign ministers failed to hammer out a final communique in Cambodia, which has held up progress on a draft code of conduct aimed at soothing tension in the flashpoint South China Sea.
This is because of the deep divisions within the 10-member bloc amid conflicting territorial claims in the South China Sea involving four of its members plus China and Taiwan.
China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, even waters close to the coasts of neighbouring countries. The Philippines says the shoal is well within its 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone.
A sharp disagreement over whether to mention the standoff over the shoal has held up a joint statement being prepared by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Manila wants the standoff mentioned while Cambodia, a staunch Chinese ally that currently holds the ASEAN chair, has rejected the proposal.
The Philippines is also leading a push for ASEAN to unite to propose to China a code of conduct aimed at governing behaviour and preventing conflicts in the South China Sea.
Philippines slams Chinese intimidation'
The Philippines' foreign minister denounced Chinese "duplicity" and "intimidation" in the South China Sea, souring the mood at a regional gathering designed to soothe tensions.
"If Philippine sovereignty and jurisdiction can be denigrated by a powerful country through pressure, duplicity,intimidation and the threat of the use of force, the international community should be concerned about the behaviour," Albert del Rosario told the meeting, according to
an official statement.
He was referring to a recent standoff between Chinese and Philippine boats at a rocky outcrop called the Scarborough Shoal, which is claimed by both sides.
The Philippines' foreign minister denounced Chinese "duplicity" and "intimidation" in the South China Sea, souring the mood at a regional gathering designed to soothe tensions.
"If Philippine sovereignty and jurisdiction can be denigrated by a powerful country through pressure, duplicity,intimidation and the threat of the use of force, the international community should be concerned about the behaviour," Albert del Rosario told the meeting, according to
an official statement.
He was referring to a recent standoff between Chinese and Philippine boats at a rocky outcrop called the Scarborough Shoal, which is claimed by both sides.
India backs freedom of navigation, access to resources in SCS
Forcefully articulating India's position on the issue at the ASEAN Regional Forum meeting here, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said that all the countries must respect principles of international law in resolving the issue while asserting that freedom of navigation and access to resources in the area must be ensured in accordance with laid down principles.
"The message was that all outstanding issues must be resolved peaceful through a process of dialogue and discussion. Those dialogue and discussion should be taking place without intimidation or without any pressure tactics and it should be acceptable to all the parties involved," Krishna told reporters later without naming any country.
A number of ARF member countries held China responsible for the simmering tension in the South China Sea region while US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asked Beijing to accept a code of conduct for resolving the dispute, which was also strongly favoured by Krishna. China, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines all have competing claims on South China Sea (SCS) where India's ONGC has oil blocks.
Calling for peaceful resolution of the dispute, both Krishna and Clinton favoured talks among all the concerned countries, a position which is contrary to Beijing's assertion that it would resolve the differences bilaterally.
Progress on the code, strongly encouraged by the United States, was seen by analysts as a way of dissipating anger inthe region and smoothing tensions after a string of recent confrontations.
Forcefully articulating India's position on the issue at the ASEAN Regional Forum meeting here, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said that all the countries must respect principles of international law in resolving the issue while asserting that freedom of navigation and access to resources in the area must be ensured in accordance with laid down principles.
"The message was that all outstanding issues must be resolved peaceful through a process of dialogue and discussion. Those dialogue and discussion should be taking place without intimidation or without any pressure tactics and it should be acceptable to all the parties involved," Krishna told reporters later without naming any country.
A number of ARF member countries held China responsible for the simmering tension in the South China Sea region while US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asked Beijing to accept a code of conduct for resolving the dispute, which was also strongly favoured by Krishna. China, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines all have competing claims on South China Sea (SCS) where India's ONGC has oil blocks.
Calling for peaceful resolution of the dispute, both Krishna and Clinton favoured talks among all the concerned countries, a position which is contrary to Beijing's assertion that it would resolve the differences bilaterally.
Progress on the code, strongly encouraged by the United States, was seen by analysts as a way of dissipating anger inthe region and smoothing tensions after a string of recent confrontations.
Vietnam accuses China
Vietnam has accused China of aggressive behaviour and yesterday Japan lodged a formal complaint over Chinese boatsapproaching islands in the East China Sea which are controlled by Tokyo.
ASEAN has already agreed the key elements it will proposein any negotiations with China, including using international law such as the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea as the basis for any dispute.
Vietnam has accused China of aggressive behaviour and yesterday Japan lodged a formal complaint over Chinese boatsapproaching islands in the East China Sea which are controlled by Tokyo.
ASEAN has already agreed the key elements it will proposein any negotiations with China, including using international law such as the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea as the basis for any dispute.
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