US, Philippines to raise territorial row in Malaysia meet

Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, front left, walks with Vietnam’s Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, front right, after they pose for a family photograph during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers Meeting plenary session in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Tuesday, August 4, 2015.

Only Southeast Asian foreign ministers will meet today, but the talks will expand over the following two days into the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), attended by US Secretary of State John Kerry, China’s Wang, and envoys from the wider region including Japan, the Koreas, Russian Federation and elsewhere.

The close economic ties and all-around cooperation between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are expect to play a leading role in the East Asia cooperation, officials and experts said.

Foreign Ministers and senior officials of the ten ASEAN countries and their dialogue partners including China, United States, Russia, South Korea and Japan are meeting in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur this week, to discuss global and regional issues and ways to further promote ties.

But the report says Vietnam is responding to China’s aggressive stance in the South China Sea by investing in its air and maritime capabilities.

ASEAN nations have pushed for a binding resolution-solving agreement with China for a decade, as Beijing has insisted it would only negotiate territorial disputes bilaterally with other claimants Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei.

“We have to emphasize, however, that this should not in any way legitimize the status of the features reclaimed by China”, del Rosario said, referring to massive artificial islands that China started building last year on at least seven disputed reefs.

Malaysia’s Foreign Minister, Anifah Aman, cautioned that “recent developments have raised tensions and eroded trust and confidence among the parties”.

“We agreed that it is imperative that this matter is handled constructively and explored the possibility of putting in place preventive measures”. He declined to give details.

He said China would continue to respects its commitments regarding the South China Sea issue, including resolving the conflict peacefully through bilateral talks and permitting free sea navigation and flights over the area.

“It’s not a constructive move to exercise double standards on the issue”, Wang told reporters on the sidelines of the ASEAN meetings.

Last week, China accused the United States of “militarizing” the South China Sea by staging patrols and joint military drills there.

But despite Beijing’s protestations, Malaysia’s foreign minister said the South China Sea disputes were “discussed extensively” during the day’s meetings. But Washington has said it would call for a halt to aggressive actions by China and other rival nations to make room for a diplomatic solution to a problem that threatens regional stability.

While the U.S. still wields considerable influence in Southeast Asia, much of the region is heavily dependent on trade and investment with China, which claims sovereignty over about four-fifths of the sea according to a so-called nine-dash line map it drew in the 1940s.

Wang said China would not agree to suspend island building, as demanded by some rival claimants and the United States.