(L to R) Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chano-cha, Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, U.S President Barack Obama, Laos Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith, Philippines Foreign Minister Perfecto Yasay, Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen, Indonesia's President Joko Widodo and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak pose for photo during ASEAN-U.S. "Several leaders remained seriously concerned over recent developments in the South China Sea," said the draft. China claims much of the South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion of trade moves annually. 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: Thanhnien News September 08, 2016 04:52 UTC