ASEAN preparing for clash over South China Sea
Phnom Penh (AsiaNews) - Sovereignty in the South China Sea and tensions in the Pacific are expected to top the agenda in the upcoming ASEAN summit, set to start in Cambodia next week-end. China, Vietnam, Philippines and Japan are ready to fight, diplomatically for now, over fishing rights and islets in that body of water.
ASEAN foreign ministers are already in Phnom Penh ahead of heads of government and state. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will also be present. In a recent statement, she urged the parties to make ''progress'' on a code of conduct for the South China Sea.
The latter has been at the cause of skirmishes and diplomatic tensions among regional powers. The recent decision by Vietnam's parliament to extend Vietnamese sovereignty over the Spratlys and Paracels has made matters worse.
The row between China and Vietnam goes back 40 years as both nations claim sovereignty over the resource-rich groups of islands. Vietnam's latest move is something new since Hanoi had never gone beyond nationalist rhetoric in the past.
China has reacted angrily to Vietnam's move, calling on Hanoi to change its new law, warning that it could harm bilateral relations and threaten peace and stability in the South China Sea.
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