The statement of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) on
the South China Sea issue can help ease tension in the region, experts said,
after Asean members called for restraint and dialogue yesterday.
Excluding any specific disputes
initiated by relevant countries, the six-point statement can temporarily
stabilise the situation in the South China Sea, said Yang Baoyun, an expert on
Southeast Asian studies at Peking University.
It helps restore Asean centrality
in the regional architecture and shows the international community that Asean
countries are still unified in response to speculation that they have split up,
said Yang.
The nations' foreign ministers
failed to issue a joint communique concluding their annual meeting in Cambodia
a week ago - for the first time in 45 years, since the establishment of the
regional organisation.
During the meeting, the rotating
Asean chair country, Cambodia, rejected a proposal by relevant countries to
mention their separate territorial disputes with China in the customary communique
that should have been published by the end of the meeting.
Asean countries agreed in the
statement that they will maintain restraint and solve the disputes through
political dialogue, continue to implement the Declaration on the Conduct of
Parties in the South China Sea and relevant follow-up statements.
The Southeast Asian countries
also pledged to reach agreement on formulating a code of conduct on the South
China Sea as soon as possible and solve the disputes according to international
laws accepted by most countries around the world.
China has noted the statement
issued by Asean countries, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei yesterday,
adding that China will work closely with Asean countries to implement the DOC
and maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea.
The core of the issue is which
country has sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and nearby waters, and there
are solid historical and legislative evidences proving China's sovereignty over
them, Hong said.
Hong reiterated that China and
Asean countries have common interests and responsibilities to maintain
stability and dynamic development in the region, and strategically maintain
bilateral ties based on mutual respect and trust.
According to a report on
channelnewsasia.com, Singapore welcomed the release of the statement, saying it
was a result of the unceasing efforts of Indonesia.
The Singapore Foreign Ministry
said the statement goes some way to repairing the damage caused by the failure
of the 45th Asean Ministerial Meeting, during which Singapore and other
like-minded Asean member states had tried very hard to negotiate a consensus on
what should be said about the issue.
The Asean countries have realised
that they have different attitudes toward the issue, and a divided Asean will
threaten the process of integration in the region, which yields negative
influence on regional development, said Chu Hao, an expert on Southeast Asian
studies with the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.
The statement does not regulate
specifically what each country should do to solve the issue, and whether it
could solve the disputes still depends on how each country interprets and
implements it, he added.
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