Reuters, MANILASoutheast Asian foreign ministers yesterday ended an impasse over how to address disputes with China in the South China Sea, issuing a communique that called for militarization to be avoided and noting concern about island-building. The South China Sea has long been the most divisive issue for ASEAN, with China’s influence looming large over its activities. The communique issued late yesterday takes a stronger position than an earlier, unpublished draft, which was a watered-down version of one issued last year in Laos. The ASEAN ministers also mentioned in their 46-page statement a vague reference to an international arbitration ruling last year that invalidated China’s historical claims to virtually all of the South China Sea. Meanwhile, Japanese deputy Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Toshihide Ando told a news conference in Manila that his government was gravely concerned about China’s building of what he called “large-scale outposts” in the South China Sea.

Source: Taipei Times August 06, 2017 16:05 UTC