ASEAN leaders dance around China sea dispute

THIS YEAR’S Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit is seen to go easy on China by avoiding references to Manila’s legally won entitlements on the disputed South China Sea and Beijing’s aggressive militarization in the strategic area.

Amid “serious concern” over “escalation of activities” in the region, ASEAN leaders will discard allusions to the landmark ruling of a UN-backed tribunal against China’s claims in the strategic waterway, according to excerpts of the draft ASEAN chairman statement.

The draft statement, a copy of which was obtained by journalists yesterday, will be issued at the end of the ASEAN summit in Manila this week.

The Philippines chairs this year’s ASEAN, which is celebrating its 50th year.

“We shared the serious concern expressed by some Leaders over recent developments and escalation of activities in the area which may further raise tensions and erode trust and confidence in the region,” the draft communique read in part.

“We reaffirmed the importance of enhancing mutual trust and confidence, exercising self-restraint in the conduct of activities, avoiding actions that may further complicate the situation, and pursuing peaceful resolution of disputes, including through full respect for legal and diplomatic processes,” it added.

Despite the lack of mention to the arbitral ruling, the draft chairman statement nonetheless “underscored the importance of the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea in its entirety.”

“We were pleased with the progress to complete a framework of the Code of Conduct (CoC), in order to facilitate the early adoption of the CoC within the ASEAN-China process,” the draft document also said.

The Code of Conduct is intended to provide the framework for nations to settle territorial disputes in the region peacefully.

Last year, the Philippines won a legal battle against Beijing’s vast maritime claims on the contested South China Sea, a crucial sea channel where trillion dollars’ worth of trade passes yearly.

The ruling also said China violated the Philippines’ sovereign rights by blocking fishing and oil exploration as well as by building artificial islands there.

China rejected the ruling and seized most parts of the strategic waterway, including the resourcerich Scarborough Shoal that is considered a traditional fishing area for Filipino fishermen.

But Philippine President Rodrigo R. Duterte has sought warmer ties with Beijing and maintained he will not raise just yet the arbitral award favoring Manila to Chinese President Xi Jinping.