The recriminations and finger-pointing after last week’s busted Asean
summit continue.
The highly-anticipated meeting of
foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Phnom Penh
was supposed to look for ways to resolve the long-running territorial disputes
in the South China Sea, which is claimed in whole or part by China, the
Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei. Instead, the ministers
bickered over terms of the discussion and failed to settle on a concluding
joint communiqué at the end of the summit, which is normally a formality – the
first time Asean’s leaders failed to do so in the bloc’s 45-year history.
Tempers have kept flaring since
then, with some analysts viewing the disagreement over the resource-rich sea as
one of the biggest challenges the bloc has ever faced. Philippines officials in
particular have complained the regional bloc isn’t doing enough to stand up to
China, which is asserting its claims in the sea. Cambodia, which is chairing
this year’s Asean meetings, has resisted any steps that would embarrass China,
which asked that Asean leaders keep the topic off the agenda last week.
In the latest salvo, the
Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs sent out a statement – “Why There Was
No Asean Joint Communique” – on Wednesday, defending its actions at the summit
and debunking various criticisms leveled at the Philippine delegation.
Signed by Undersecretary Erlinda
F. Basilio, the document listed numerous criticisms of the Philippine
delegation which it said were “fiction,” including reports that the Philippine
Foreign Minister walked out of last week’s meetings in disgust and that the
Philippines didn’t do enough to build consensus on issues related to the sea. Among
other things, the Philippines wanted Asean to mention the disputed Scarborough
Shoal – which was the site of a two-month standoff between China and the
Philippines that ended last month – in its joint communiqué, but not all
nations present agreed.
The Philippines side has been
working to build support for its position, but “the Cambodian Chair
consistently rejected any proposed text that mentions Scarborough Shoal,” the
letter said. The Philippines did not accuse Cambodia of “doing Beijing’s
bidding” by resisting references to the Shoal, the letter said, “but other
quarters preferred not to remain silent” on the issue, it added, without
specifying which countries.
“The Philippines has been
approaching the issue with patience and tolerance” when it comes to the sea, it
added.
Kao Kimhourn, Secretary of State
at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Cambodia, denied in an interview
Wednesday that Cambodia tried to block the joint communiqué.
“We discussed more than 130
points and only one point related to South China Sea,” he said. “We tried to
negotiate on this point (the South China Sea), but there was no consensus,” he
said, adding that other countries supported Cambodia’s position.
Indeed, the big mystery now for
Asean-watchers is: Which countries are taking Cambodia’s side, and which are
lining up with the Philippines? Manila claims it is being supported by numerous
other members, but many of the region’s governments have left their positions
unclear. Diplomats from the Philippines and elsewhere – including the U.S. –
have tried to lobby governments to support a tougher line against China, but
what other regional powers such as Thailand say behind closed doors is hard to
pin down.
A person familiar with the
discussions last week said that mid-level officials from across Asean agreed to
a joint statement that mentioned the South China Sea ahead of the meetings, but
that Cambodia rejected it. The Philippines and at least one other nation then
said they’d rather not have a statement if the issue was ignored, the person
said.
It’s also unclear whether there
will be a way out of the impasse, though some diplomats are trying to find one.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa set off on an emergency swing
through Southeast Asia on Wednesday to try to patch up disagreements over the
sea issue, including some form of code of conduct to govern future disputes,
the Associated Press said.
It is “critically important” for
the bloc to make progress on the issue soon, he said at a press conference. “If
we do not do anything, we know the damage will become bigger,” he said.
Patrick Barta
With contributions from Sun Narin
Business & Investment Opportunities
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