Asean OKs ‘conduct rules’ to avoid clashes over West PH Sea; China yet to agree

PHNOM PENH—Ten Southeast Asian nations have agreed on a code of conduct to prevent armed clashes over the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), but they will still seek to get China to agree to it, a Cambodian official said on Monday.

The agreement was reached at a meeting of foreign ministers in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), to which China does not belong.

The issue of contending maritime claims is the major topic of the talks held in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, in large part because tensions over the strategic waterway have escalated in recent months.

Chinese and Philippine ships engaged in a standoff in one disputed area starting in April, and Vietnam last month protested Chinese energy projects in waters both nations claim.

In his opening speech at the Asean meeting, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen urged Southeast Asian countries to do more to promote mutual economic growth and security and called for a code of conduct in the West Philippine Sea to be implemented.

Agreed on key elements

Cambodian Secretary of State Kao Kim Hourn said at a news conference late Monday that the declaration was intended to cover China in addition to the Asean states. The code would spell out rules governing maritime rights and navigation in the West Philippine Sea.

He said that Asean had “agreed on the key elements among Asean only, and from now on we have to start discussing this with China.” Details of the code of conduct were not given.

Asean will have a ministerial level meeting with China on Wednesday morning, along with other high-level meetings later this week.

China willing but…

China claims virtually the entire West Philippine Sea and has created an entirely new city to administer it, sparking protests from rival claimants. The sea is crossed by some of the world’s busiest sea-lanes, has rich fishing grounds and is believed to have vast energy reserves.

On Monday, China said it was willing to discuss a code of conduct with Asean “when conditions are ripe” but insisted that any potential pact must not be used to resolve rival claims.

“The (code of conduct) is not aimed at resolving disputes, but aimed at building mutual trust and deepening cooperation,” China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Liu Weimin told journalists in Beijing.

While that stance may put China at odds with some Asean members, it is consistent with Beijing’s desire to settle disputes with claimants bilaterally.

“It’s expected that China would work with Asean. It’s the only way to get the US off their back,” said Carl Thayer, a politics professor and Southeast Asia security expert at the University of New South Wales in Australia.

“But what is Asean proposing and how will China react? We don’t know whether the proposed code will have a dispute settlement mechanism,” he added.

Challenges

Hun Sen in his opening speech also said that Asean faces challenges, including instability elsewhere in the world, natural disasters and high food and energy costs.

He said the economic gap among Asean’s 10 members had narrowed but needs to be reduced further to ensure competitiveness and achieve real regional integration.

Kao Kim Hourn also announced the postponement of the signing of three documents on the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone, which had been expected this week.

He said the delay was the result of reservations raised by several members of the five recognized nuclear-weapon states. Because they were raised “at the last minute,” more time was needed for additional consultations, he said.  Reports from AP and AFP