Gen Banh Says Sea Not on Agenda With Vietnam
Cambodia Daily | 2 June 2016
Following a meeting with Vietnam’s new defense minister, Ngo Xuan
Lich, Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Banh told reporters that rising tensions
in the South China Sea were not even mentioned during their discussion.
“This morning, not even one word was
raised” about the maritime disputes, General Banh said, explaining that there
was no need for such talk, as Asean member states had already agreed on a code
of conduct for resolving the issue.
However, Vietnam is among four Asean countries with claims to the
sea that overlap with those of China, which has insisted on negotiating the
disputes with individual countries rather than with the regional bloc as a
whole.
“Cambodia’s stance is that those who have
disputes should sit together to resolve issues, and outsiders should not
disturb them,” he said.
As China has ramped up island-building in the
sea over the past year, it has also accused the U.S. of causing instability in
the region through its efforts to ensure that the international waters remain
open.
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