Stepping in for weak ASEAN, Japan, Australia, US chide China

The tribunal said China’s claim has no basis in history or global law.

Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have claims to the South China Sea, a vital waterway through which $5 trillion in annual trade passes.

Beijing has made clear it would negotiate its claims with Manila without acknowledging the tribunal’s ruling.

All parties pledged in the China-ASEAN joint statement to return to the right track of resolving specific disputes through consultations by parties directly concerned.

Cambodia’s foreign minister would no doubt agree.

Even after a late-night meeting of foreign ministers called to thrash out the issue late on Saturday, the region’s top diplomats were unable to find a compromise.

Manila backed down to prevent the disagreement leading to the group failing to issue a joint statement after a meeting for only the second time in its 49-year history.

But, he stressed, “my visit to the Philippines has a much broader agenda beyond the South China Sea”.

“We have been here before, and I hope they can solve it”, an official from the Indonesian ASEAN Secretariat told Reuters. The shared position after a weekend meeting at which there was initial discord was a welcome show of unity after the disarray of a 2012 gathering.

Kerry flew to the country this week to meet the new Philippine leader and boost diplomatic relations between the two strategic allies.

On Sunday Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida intervened in the dispute, urging China to abide by the arbitration ruling.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends the 6th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Vientiane, capital of Laos, July 26, 2016.

In a press conference after the meeting, Wang reiterated China’s rejection of the decision of The Hague court and accused the court of acting under the influence of foreign forces.

Wang said in a statement Wednesday that the move by the three countries came at an inappropriate time and wasn’t constructive.

In the aftermath of the tribunal’s July 12 ruling, some Chinese citizens called for boycotts of US and Philippine products, picketed American fast-food chains and spread angry rhetoric on social media.

They likewise confirmed their respect for, and commitment to, the freedom of navigation in and over flight above the South China Sea.

Mr. Singh called for deepening security cooperation based on an outright rejection of state-sponsored terrorism while de-linking religion from terrorism besides isolating those who harbour, support, finance or sponsor terrorists, without distinguishing between “good” or “bad” terrorists. The communique also noted that “land reclamations and escalation of activities in the area. have eroded trust and confidence [between countries], increased tensions and may undermine peace, security and stability in the region”.

The duo also discussed the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, a pact legally affirmed by the Supreme Court on Tuesday – the day Kerry arrived in the Philippines – that would, among other things, give USA troops and equipment wide access to Philippine military bases on a rotational basis.