The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) should adopt a
similar approach to that adopted by Vietnam and China last year in dealing with
territorial disputes in the South China Sea, a Vietnamese lawyer says.
The failure of last month's
annual meeting of Asean foreign ministers to issue a joint statement partly
reflected disagreement over whether the disputes were bilateral or
multilateral.
As the current Asean chair,
Cambodia has been insisting that the disputes are bilateral. The Philippines
and Vietnam, on the other hand, have been saying they are multilateral.
"Everyone was correct as
some of the disputes are bilateral and others are multilateral," said the
lawyer, an expert in Vietnamese constitutional law.
The lawyer, who is visiting
Cambodia on private business and asked not to be named, said the agreement
signed by Vietnam and China in Beijing in October last year could be a model
for Asean after the ministerial failure in Phnom Penh.
Under the agreement, he said,
disputes between Vietnam and China that involve no other country apart from
Taiwan are subject to bilateral negotiations between Hanoi and Beijing.
Such disputes would include
Vietnam's disputes with China over the Paracel islands, which were occupied by
China in 1974.
They would also include the
Philippine dispute with China over the Scarborough Shoal, which the Philippines
tried to get mentioned in last month's joint ministerial statement.
The lawyer said, however, that
the agreement between Hanoi and Beijing also provides for other disputes
involving three or more countries excluding Taiwan to be dealt with on a
multilateral basis. Such disputes are further south in the Spratly Islands
where Brunei and Malaysia also have claims.
On this basis, the Philippine
dispute over Swallow Reef would be considered as multilateral. Also known Pulau
Layang Layang, the island is popular with tourists as a diving resort. It is
administered by Malaysia but is also claimed by China, the Philippines and Vietnam
as well as Taiwan.
Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor
Namhong expressed hope Wednesday that Asean would move forward after last
month's "unexpected mishap" at the ministerial meeting in Phnom Penh.
"Cambodia believes that
Asean will continue to advance with the spirit of unity and solidarity, by
setting aside issues we cannot yet reach consensus," he said.
Cambodia is scheduled to host an
Asean summit and a broader East Asian Summit in November.
Apart from the South China Sea,
Asean has many other unresolved territorial disputes between members,
notably between Cambodia and Thailand.
At the same time, Thailand has disputes with Malaysia which, in turn, has
separate disputes with Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore.
Among countries taking part in
the East Asia Summit, China has territorial disputes with India and Japan
which, in turn, has separate disputes over islands with South Korea and Russia.
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