The Philippines, which brought the case against China, had called for Asean to effectively address tensions in the South China Sea. US Secretary of State John Kerry (centre) links his hands with Asean Foreign Ministers and delegates during the Asean-US meeting as part of the 49th ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting (AMM) and related meetings in Vientiane on Monday. In 2012, Asean failed to issue a joint statement for the first time in its history due to disagreements on the South China Sea. The South China Sea matter is a test of the unity and central role of Asean, Vietnam’s government said in a statement on its website, referring to the Laos meeting. The Permanent Court of Arbitration said on July 12 that China’s land reclamation and other efforts to assert control over the South China Sea had "aggravated" tensions, "inflicted irreparable harm" to the environment and "violated" Philippine sovereign rights.

Source: Bangkok Post July 25, 2016 09:11 UTC