China claims most of the sea, but ASEAN members the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei all have rival claims. China is adamantly opposed to an ASEAN stand on the South China Sea, preferring to deal with the disputed claims on a bilateral basis. Indonesia has proposed that foreign ministers hold an informal meeting late on Saturday to thrash out an agreement. A committee has been working since July 20 trying to hammer out an ASEAN statement acceptable to all, said another diplomat, but Cambodia has thwarted their efforts. 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.

Source: Thanhnien News July 23, 2016 12:33 UTC