AUGUST 5 (Reuters) — Member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) joined a U.S. call to halt land reclamation in disputed areas of the South China Sea on Tuesday (August 4) after a ministerial meeting in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Anifah Aman, whose country is chairing the regional meeting this year, said the issue was discussed extensively.
“We reaffirm the importance of maintaining peace, security, and stability, as well as freedom of navigation’s, and over flight over the South China Sea as an important sea, land communication for regional and international trade and commerce. We emphasize the importance of a full and effective implementation of the Declarations of the Conduct (DoC) of Parties in the South China Sea in its entirety,” Anifah told reporters.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the Philippines’ Foreign Minister Albert Del Rosario said the country was ready to help de-escalate tensions in the disputed region, if China and other claimant states agreed to be bound by the same conditions.
His comments came a day after China said it did not want the contentious theme discussed at the ASEAN gathering.
The Philippines’ stance was backed by their ASEAN counterparts.
“We also discussed ways to address erosion’s of trust and confidence among parties following recent development in South China Sea, including land reclamations, as well as escalations of tensions on the ground,” Anifah said.
“We agreed that it is imperative that this matter is handled constructively and explore the possibility of putting in place preventive measures to ensure disagreement among parties on matter relating to the South China Sea does not escalate into a situation that may undermine peace, security and stability. We agreed that exercising self-restraint in the conduct of activities that would complicate or escalate tensions must be enhanced,” he added.
China will attend the two-day meeting with the regional body as well as other countries like the United States, Australia and Japan starting on Wednesday (August 5) and Thursday (August 6).
China claims most of the South China Sea, through which $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei have overlapping claims.
China has shown no sign of halting its construction of artificial islands in disputed waters.
It has also accused the United States of militarizing the South China Sea by staging patrols and joint military drills, while the United States has called for a halt in China’s artificial island building in the area.
