ASEAN in discord ahead of meeting with top China, U.S. diplomats
Source: Reuters
Southeast Asian nations were thrown into disarray after Cambodia on Saturday blocked them from issuing a statement referring to an international court ruling against China's territorial claims in the South China Sea, diplomats said.
The U.N.-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague handed an emphatic legal victory to the Philippines in the maritime dispute earlier this month, denying China's sweeping claims in the strategic seaway.
Foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will meet for the first time since the ruling on Sunday, before hosting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, and his Chinese counterpart, Foreign Minister Wang Yi among others.
The disputed sea, through which more than $5 trillion in global trade passes each year, is the most contentious issue for the 10 ASEAN members.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-southchinasea-ruling-asean-idUSKCN1030KU
"Cambodia is China's closest ASEAN ally and is the only country opposing any reference to the ruling in a statement due to be issued after ASEAN foreign ministers meet on Sunday, an ASEAN diplomat told Reuters.
Cambodia is also pushing to strike out any reference to the militarization of the South China Sea, watering down the language in statements issued previously by ASEAN this year.
Cambodia is heavily dependent on Chinese aid and investment. Last week, Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen announced China would give his government around $600 million in soft loans.
"Cambodia is unbelievable," one diplomat said on condition of anonymity. "It is blocking any phrase about the arbitration and about militarization." "
And so it goes... isn't that how international politics usually works, countries go with what's in THEIR own vested interests?
Make Cambodia a better offer.
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