JAKARTA — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met in Indonesia Tuesday with
the secretary general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to discuss
rival territorial claims to the South China Sea.
Secretary Clinton met with
ASEAN's Surin Pitsuwan and permanent representatives to the regional body's
secretariat in Jakarta.
Senior State Department officials
say she was seeking their advice on how the United States can best help resolve
competing territorial claims to the South China Sea.
The Obama administration is
encouraging ASEAN members to work as a group in negotiating a code of conduct
with China to set parameters for resolving the dispute. China, Vietnam,
Malaysia, Taiwan, Brunei, and the Philippines all have competing territorial
claims to parts of the South China Sea.
Secretary Clinton says all
nations have an interest in maintaining regional peace and stability.
"The United States believes
very strongly that no party should take any steps that would increase tensions
or do anything that could be viewed as coercive or intimidating to advance
their territorial claims," she said.
Secretary Clinton says
encouraging ASEAN unity is not just about China. It is also about resolving
rival maritime claims within the group itself.
"There are many claimants.
It’s not just ASEAN members claiming vis-a-vis China. There are claims within
ASEAN members themselves," Clinton added. "So this is in everyone’s
interest and it is time for diplomacy. We have the East Asia Summit coming up
in Phnom Penh in November."
Clinton says that should be the
diplomatic goal: to make progress on a "robust code of conduct to
literally calm the waters" before that summit in Cambodia.
Secretary Clinton met with ASEAN
leaders in Jakarta following talks with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono. Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa says ASEAN's path is clear: to
apply itself to getting a code of conduct done.
"Absent a code of conduct,
absent a diplomatic process, we can be certain of more incidents and more
tension for our region. So it is a win-win relationship," said Natalegawa.
"It is not only right that ASEAN must be united, but it is also the smart
thing to do, because absent an ASEAN unity, the question will become like a
loose cannon in the way the issue is being discussed."
Chinese ambitions in the South
China Sea will be part of Secretary Clinton's talks in Beijing and Brunei as
well as the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Russia.
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