All key parties in South China Sea dispute to meet

TAMAKI KYOZUKA, Nikkei staff writer / | 24 July 2016

A woman walks past a billboard featuring an image of an island in South China Sea. © AP

VIENTIANE -- Southeast Asian countries on Sunday are to kick off a series of meetings that eventually will bring together all key parties at odds over China's defiance of a U.N. tribunal rejection of Beijing's claims to most of the South China Sea.

With China insisting it will not accept the ruling, the world is closely watching to see how countries might pressure Beijing here in the capital of land-locked Laos.

An ASEAN foreign ministerial meeting takes place on Sunday. On Monday, the foreign ministers of the 10-member bloc will hold separate meetings with their counterparts from Japan, China and the U.S. On Tuesday, a meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum will wrap things up.

The forum, where participants will discuss security and other regional issues, will also be attended by China, Japan, South Korea, the U.S., Russia, North Korea and the European Union.

The ASEAN ministerial meeting is likely to see a fierce battle between the Philippines, which has an ongoing territorial row with China, and countries close to China, such as Cambodia. 

A draft of the ASEAN foreign ministers' joint communique was obtained by the Nikkei. It says ASEAN will fully respect legal and diplomatic procedures as a means to solve disputes. The line appears to heed the recent tribunal ruling.

On Saturday, Singapore and Indonesia, neither of which have direct territorial disputes with China, joined the Philippines in supporting the draft at a vice ministers' meeting. Cambodia, on the other hand, fought the wording.

Cambodia has already rejected most of the draft communique's passages critical of China, such as one referring to China's land reclamation in the South China Sea.

Some confrontation is expected before the communique is finalized.

China, for its part, is expected to strike a more conciliatory tone with ASEAN members through bilateral talks and other means.

During the three days of meetings, the ministers are also to discuss North Korea's nuclear program. Representatives from Pyongyang are to be present.

The series of terrorist attacks taking place across the world will also be addressed.