By Parameswaran Ponnudurai
In one of the most embarrassing moments in its four-decade history, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) ended its annual talks in Cambodia this week without issuing its traditional joint statement due to deep divisions over a South China Sea territorial dispute with China.
The unprecedented action underscores the extent to which the long-running maritime dispute has dampened solidarity within the 10-member ASEAN grouping and China’s expanding influence in the region as it flexes its economic and military muscle.
It also throws into doubt a decade-long effort to devise a code of conduct to contain any military conflict over fishing, shipping rights, or oil and gas exploration in the resource-rich South China Sea, which is also home to vital shipping lanes.
ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan called the meeting outcome “very disappointing” while Marty Natalegawa, the foreign minister of Indonesia who tried but failed to forge common positions said it was “irresponsible” for the group to skip a joint statement for the first time in its 45-year history.
“To show solidarity, it is important to remind China that this is a vital issue for ASEAN and that ASEAN members who are not parties to the dispute share the concerns of their neighbors who are,” said Richard Cronin, the director of the Southeast Asia program at the Washington-based Stimson Center.
“But if you overshoot the mark and look divided that is not a good outcome,” he told RFA.
Read the full story at Eurasia Review