Sea Dispute Upends Asian Summit

Sea Dispute Upends Asian Summit

July 13, 2012
By PATRICK BARTA in Siem Reap, Cambodia and CARLOS TEJADA in Beijing

China's efforts to assert its claims to the disputed South China Sea got a boost as regional talks to resolve the issue broke down despite U.S. support, even as Beijing made fresh moves that underscore its increasing presence in the region.
A summit of foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, ended Friday amid tense disagreements over how to address territorial claims in the sea, which is claimed by China and in part by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who attended the talks, had pressed for discussion of a multinational agreement to ease tensions—a move opposed by China, which prefers to negotiate with
each nation separately.

But Southeast Asian nations argued over how hard to press the Chinese, with countries such as Cambodia resisting any steps that would embarrass China, and the Philippines—which has competing maritime territorial claims with China—pushing to take a harder line, according to people familiar with the talks. Tempers grew so hot that the 10 Asean member nations weren't able to agree on language for a concluding communiqué, which is typically issued at the end of such summits and used as final records of the events.
Such a failure is "unprecedented" in the group's 45-year history, said Asean Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan, who called it "very disappointing." "We'll need time to recover," he said, adding that "Asean will need to learn how to consolidate and coordinate positions if it wants to take on the global community."

Mrs. Clinton late Thursday said the talks demonstrated progress because they showed the nations were willing to discuss the difficult issue. But analysts said the result favors Beijing. "Southeast Asian nations have to come up with a common position," said Dan Blumenthal, director of Asian studies at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank. "Anytime they don't, it's a victory for China."

The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs blamed Cambodia for "consistently opposing any mention" of one disputed area, according to the Associated Press, which also quoted Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong as saying that the failure to issue a statement lies with all Asean members.
The failure came amid fresh reminders of China's stepped-up efforts to bolster its claims to the South China Sea, which is believed to be resource rich and is home to key trading routes. China's Defense Ministry on Friday said a navy frigate on a routine patrol ran aground in the waters near the Spratly Islands, which are claimed by both China and the Philippines. The ministry said nobody was hurt and salvage efforts were underway.

The Philippines Department of National Defense confirmed the incident but didn't provide further details. Efforts to reach the president's spokesman were unsuccessful.

Meanwhile, China late Thursday announced that it would send a fleet of 30 fishing vessels to those same waters, with the state-run Xinhua news agency saying the ships would spend 20 days fishing there.

China Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi also pushed back against the Philippines during the summit. A Xinhua report on Friday said Mr. Yang urged the Philippines on Thursday "to face facts squarely and not to make trouble" over another disputed island, called Scarborough Shoal in English and Huangyan Island in Chinese.

China could continue to push forward in the sea in the short term, said Jin Canrong, associate dean of the School of International Studies at Renmin University in Beijing, citing domestic public pressure to assert its claims. "On a tactical level, Beijing will be more active," he said. "It will have more communication with the United States and it will expand China's presence in the South China Sea, look to drill for oil and send more ships there."

Reaching an accord will be difficult, and would likely require the U.S. to bring nations siding with China, such as Cambodia, into its camp. Mr. Blumenthal, of AEI, cited Cambodia's extensive economic ties with that nation, which include significant aid and infrastructure spending. "If China's going to buy off Cambodia, we need to do what we can to stop that," he said.

Indeed, the failure of talks in Phnom Penh was in many ways a setback for the U.S., which is trying to expand its involvement in the region and has long tried to fortify Asean as a regional bloc able to present a unified front against expanding Chinese influence. Mrs. Clinton, who traveled to Siem Reap on Friday, announced $50 million in fresh funding for the Lower Mekong Initiative, a three-year old project to provide financial and technical support to countries along the Mekong River, but also, analysts say, to reassert the U.S.'s role in the region. She also met with Myanmar President Thein Sein on the eve of a U.S. business delegation to the once-secretive country, where she endorsed a series of pro-democracy reforms his government has implemented over the past year. The Obama administration this week said it was finally lifting key economic sanctions against the country after promising to suspend them earlier this year.

"The United States will be very disappointed that Asean hasn't been able to reach agreement on this issue," said Ian Storey, a senior fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore. "But of course they can't say that publicly" after pressing so hard to get all the parties to sit down to the table together, he said.