ASEAN defense ministers silent on South China Sea clashes
Kuala Lumpur (AsiaNews / Agencies) - In spite of a tense atmosphere, the defense ministers of ASEAN (Association which brings together 10 countries of South-East Asia), meeting this week in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, decided against issuing the expected joint statement that traditionally closes the forum.
Local sources report that the sudden u-turn was caused by recent disputes between Beijing and Washington in the South China Sea and their possible explicit mention in the final document. The meeting was attended by representatives of ASEAN, along with delegates from Australia, China, India, Japan and the United States.
Malaysian officials, the nation hosting the meeting, did not want to officially clarify the reasons that led to the cancellation of the document. But the fact remains that, at the last moment, the words "Joint Communique of Kuala Lumpur" were deleted from the daily agenda.
Earlier, a US government official – speaking anonymously - had pointed the finger at China, which he claimed had lobbied various countries in South-East Asia in order to eliminate any reference relating to disputes in the seas. And several countries of the region in direct conflict with Beijing (like Vietnam and the Philippines), adds the official, found this "unseemly" and a clear sign of the "militarization" of tensions.
China’s Defense Minister Chang Wanquan, instead claimed that "some countries" outside ASEAN - a clear reference to the United States and Japan, while not mentioning them - want to exacerbate the tension. He maintained they "tried to force the addition of extraneous content to the joint statement," said the senior Beijing official, and these nations are to blame for the lack of a final declaration.
Disputes over seas had left the ASEAN summits "speechless" in the past. For the first time in 45 years in July 2012, a summit of the Association ended without a joint statement. The conflicts and controversies that marked the meeting perisited even after the end of the meeting.
In recent years, Vietnam and the Philippines - which has taken its case to a UN court - have shown growing concern over China's "imperialism" in the South and East China Seas. The Chinese government claims most of the sea (almost 85 per cent), including sovereignty over the disputed Spratly and Paracel islands, in opposition to Vietnam, Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei and Malaysia. For the United States, which backs the claims of Southeast Asia nations, Beijing's so-called 'cow tongue' line is both "illegal" and "irrational".
Anyone with a hegemonic sway over the region would have a strategic advantage, in terms of seabed (oil and gas) development, but also in trade since two thirds of the world's maritime trade transit through it, with a total value of at least $ 5 trillion.
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