Asian neighborswant China pressured on sea

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Southeast Asian nations displayed a rare show of unity Sunday against China’s sweeping maritime claims, calling for the first formal talks with Beijing over a sea dispute that has raised tensions and exposed deep divisions in the region.

As Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao arrived in Cambodia for meetings with Southeast Asian leaders, the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations appeared determined to avoid a repeat of an embarrassing breakdown of talks in July over competing claims in the mineral-rich South China Sea, its biggest security challenge.

Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen will tell Wen that the association wants to begin talks on a binding code of conduct, aimed at reducing the chance of naval flash points, as soon as possible, association Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan told reporters.

China’s claims in the South China Sea have sown deep divisions within the bloc at a time when military spending in the region is surging and the United States is refocusing attention on Asia — a “pivot” that President Barack Obama is expected to reinforce on his visit to the summit Monday in Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh.

Chinese ally Cambodia has used its powers as association chair this year to restrict discussion of the issue, in line with Beijing’s view that the disputes should be discussed on a bilateral basis. China has previously said it is willing to discuss a code of conduct when the “time is right.”