CHINA-ASEAN: SOUTH CHINA SEA

Reuters reported on April 30, 2017, that Southeast Asian leaders took a softer stance on disputes in the South China Sea during the summit that ended on April 29, 2017, and avoided tacit references to China’s building and arming of its manmade islands. A final statement of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) dropped the references to “land reclamation and militarization” included in the text issued at last year’s meeting in Laos and an earlier, unpublished version seen by Reuters on Saturday. The outcome follows what two Asean diplomats said were efforts by the Chinese foreign ministry and embassy officials in Manila to pressure the Philippines, which chaired the session, to keep Beijing’s contentious activities in the strategic waterway off the ASEAN’s official agenda.

 







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