ASEAN works to resolve South China Sea disputes

23 July 2012
ABC Radio Australia and AFP

ASEAN has agreed on a unity statement over the South China Sea disputes and will work towards a full code of conduct.

Cambodia, the organisation's current chair, announced last week that member nations had agreed to six principles on handling the disputed waters where Vietnam and the Philippines have accused China of becoming increasingly aggressive.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa says the recent summit became bogged down on the issue of how to describe the complex territorial spat and was unable reach consensus.

It was the first time an ASEAN meeting had ending without a communiqué.

Following the summit Mr Natalegawa visited Manila, Hanoi and Phnom Penh in an effort to help the group find common ground.

He told Australia Network the statement of unity frames ASEAN's response to the dispute by enshrining the respect for international law and expressing the firm resolve to get a full code of conduct drawn up as soon as possible.

"These are the nuts and bolts and the essence of ASEAN's position on the South China Sea, which we are now resolved to really promote and maintain in our discussions with either parties, including, for example, with China," he said.

China claims sovereignty over nearly all of the resource-rich sea, which is home to vital shipping lanes, but ASEAN members the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei have overlapping claims in the area.

Hanoi and Beijing have a long-standing territorial dispute over the Spratly and Paracel Islands, which both countries claim, and frequently trade diplomatic barbs over oil exploration and fishing rights.

Driving force

Mr Natalegawa says that while the disputes need to be resolved by the individual counties, the regional bloc does have a role to play.

"There's always room and contribution that the region can make in creating climate conducive for such bilateral negotiations to take place

"[The dispute is] an opportunity for us to really stamp our role in the region. If we get it right in this particular instance, we can prove that we are indeed worthy of being entrusted as being the centrality and the driving force in our region," he said.

But the agreement comes amid more signs of public discontent over the ongoing dispute.

Central Hanoi was brought to a standstill on Sunday by around 200 protesters who staged the third rally in the city this month against Beijing's territorial claims.

The protesters shouted "Down with China's aggression" as they marched through the city towards the Chinese embassy.

Vietnam attracting China's ire last month after it adopted a law that places the Spratlys under Hanoi's sovereignty.