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ANSWER: Singapore is the ASEAN country co-ordinator for dialogue relations with
China. Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan was co-chair with Chinas Foreign
Minister Wang Yi of the Special ASEAN-China Foreign Ministers Meeting. As co-chair
Minister Balakrishnan should have attended the joint press conference with Minister
Wang. It has been reported that the special meeting ran over schedule and this
delayed the joint press briefing by five hours and Balakrishnan had to cancel his
appearance to make a return flight to Singapore.
Q6. Anyway, the joint statement of ASEAN Foreign Ministers on South China Sea has
been released to the public. Is it stronger than usual against China?
ANSWER: The text of the ASEAN joint statement released by AFP mirrors past joint
statements by ASEAN Foreign Ministers but it does not reflect the wording of past
joint statements issued by ASEAN and China.
China obviously objected to the wording of the joint statement issued by the ASEAN
Secretariat that stated recent and ongoing developments have eroded trust and
confidence, increased tensions and which may have the potential to undermine
peace, security and stability in the South China Sea.
The ASEAN statement also called for non-militarisation and self-restraint, including
land reclamation, and supported legal and diplomatic processes, a reference to the
Philippines case to the Permanent Court of Arbitration.
ASEAN statements on the South China Sea never mention China by name.
Q7. With what happened in Yunnan, do you think that ASEAN can have a united
stand on the ruling from the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague?
ANSWER: ASEAN members are in the process of drafting a joint statement on the
South China Sea in response to the forthcoming findings of the United Nations
Arbitral Tribunal. On June 9th an Indonesian foreign ministry official stated, The
process to reach a common understanding on a possible statement is still ongoing.
All ASEAN members are agreed that disputes should be settled peacefully in accord
with international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the
Sea. ASEAN should certainly be able to issue a joint statement after the Arbitral
Tribunal releases its finding but ASEAN consensus building is likely to dilute any
sharp wording or reference to China.