According to a report in The Japan Times, China had sought to release a 10-point consensus document with the Association of South East Asian Nations but the bloc rejected it due to its wording.
Quoting Asean diplomatic sources, the report said part of China’s proposed document stated that the countries “directly concerned shall resolve through friendly consultations and negotiations their territorial and jurisdictional disputes by peaceful means”.
Meanwhile, a report in The Diplomat said the controversy that followed the Asean-China meeting was due to Chinese heavy-handedness, poor coordination among Asean nations, and decision-making under pressure.
According to the report, the ball was now in the court of Asean and it has to explain its handling of this issue and clarify the status of the joint press statement issued after the meeting.
The Straits Times reported that at last week’s meeting in China, Asean had prepared a joint statement which registered “serious concerns over recent and ongoing developments, which had eroded trust and confidence, increased tensions and which may have the potential to undermine peace, security and stability in the South China Sea”.
It also called for the freedom of navigation and peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law.
However, the report said, at the last minute the Chinese presented the Asean ministers with their own 10-point consensus which Asean did not accept.
China claims most of the sea, one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, and has been transforming shallow reefs into artificial islands topped with airstrips, in waters also claimed by Asean members Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
But in what has been described as a sign of frustration over the immense pressure that China had put on Asean, Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry released the joint statement on Tuesday evening, the Straits Times reported.
“Malaysia releasing it was a manifestation of the extreme frustration of the original five Asean members plus Vietnam at the particularly crude and arrogant behaviour of the Chinese,” an Asean official was quoted as saying.
Malaysia retracted the statement hours later, leading to confusion over whether there was indeed such a statement. Observers, pointing to disunity in the grouping, called it a “diplomatic fiasco”, according to the Straits Times report.
Several other Asean states, such as Vietnam, later confirmed the existence of this statement.
The Diplomat said there was a need for all Asean members, including Cambodia and Laos, to either reconfirm their support for the press statement or explain why they backtracked.
It said Asean ministers needed to reach agreement on a joint statement to be issued after the Arbitral Tribunal hearing the Philippines’ case against China makes it findings known. The Philippines, against the wishes of China, has taken its case to the international tribunal.