Sea dispute spurs call for emergency hotlines

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Indonesia asked southeast Asian countries and China on Friday to establish emergency communication lines to allow officials to rapidly contain any potential outbreak of violence in disputed South China Sea territories as a solution to the long- unresolved conflicts remained elusive.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa made the call on the eve of an annual summit of the Association of South East Asian Nations ( ASEAN) in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, where the territorial conflicts were expected to dominate the discussions on a range of regional concerns that include human rights and a proposed regional free- trade pact.

The disputes have long been feared as Asia’s next potential flashpoint.

Indonesia’s proposal reflects growing apprehension over a lack of a clear prospect of immediately resolving the overlapping territorial claims by China, Taiwan and four countries belonging to the 10- member ASEAN — Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam — in the South China Sea.

While all the rival claimants have pledged to peacefully resolve their disputes, Natalegawa feared an accidental clash could get out of hand if governments did not have lines of communications devoted to rapidly contain an outbreak of violence.

Top officials and authorities should set up hotlines and commit to talk and take steps to extinguish any violence that might erupt, he said.

“It’s just a simple commitment, political commitment by countries of ASEAN and China that if there were to be future incidents, let’s pick up the phone and chat and discuss what has happened,” Natalegawa said.