But in a statement later from China’s Foreign Ministry, Li was paraphrased as saying China was willing to work with Southeast Asian countries in “dispelling interference … and properly handling the South China Sea issue”. China claims much of the South China Sea, through which more than $5tn of trade moves annually. Leaders from Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea and the United States also attended the summit. The United States has been a staunch ally of the Philippines and China has repeatedly blamed Washington for stirring up trouble in the South China Sea. A statement by Asean on Wednesday listed eight points related to the South China Sea, but made no mention of the arbitration ruling.

Source: Dhaka Tribune September 08, 2016 18:00 UTC