Leaders of the ten-nation Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) expressed concerns over the escalation of tensions in the South China Sea, but again made no mention of the landmark arbitral ruling that the Philippines won against Beijing.
The draft of the Chairman's Statement, excerpts of which were obtained through sources, reiterated the importance of a peaceful settlement of disputes over the contested waters in the South China Sea.
“We share the serious concern expressed by some Leaders over recent developments and escalation of activities in the area which may further raise tensions and erode trust and confidence in the region," the document read.
"We reaffirm the importance of enhancing mutual trust and confidence, exercising self-restraint in the conduct of activities, avoiding actions that may further complicate the situation and pursuing peaceful resolution of disputes, including full respect for legal and diplomatic processes, without resorting to the threat or use of force, in accordance with the universally recognized principles of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)," it added.
Asean leaders, likewise, stressed the importance of "maintaining peace, stability, security and freedom of navigation in and over-flight over the South China Sea."
The same statement also tackled the possible completion of a Code of Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea within the Philippine chairmanship.
It said, "we underscore the importance of the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in its entirety. We are pleased with the progress to complete a framework of the Code of Conduct (COC), in order to facilitate the early adoption of the COC within the ASEAN-China process."
During the last ASEAN summit in Vientiane, leaders of the regional bloc had expressed serious concern over China's continued and escalating reclamation activities in disputed areas of the South China Sea.
But they avoided mentioning a landmark ruling favoring the Philippines in its row with Beijing.
President Rodrigo Duterte, who is currently the chairman of the ASEAN, had previously opted to sign agreements on joint coast guard patrols with Beijing, instead of pursuing the line of the past administration for China to abandon its claims over contested waters "to lower regional tensions."
Duterte, who said previously he would "not rather flaunt" the historic ruling to protect the Philippines' bilateral relations with China, reminded the Asian giant that other countries are affected by the ruling.
During the Laos chairmanship, leaders of the ASEAN moved to just adopt agreements such as the Joint Statement of the Foreign Ministers of ASEAN Member States and China on the Full and Effective Implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea by the first half of 2017 and to create the framework on the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES) in the South China Sea.
More than 2,000 delegates and leaders of ASEAN member-countries will be flying to Manila for the Philippine hosting the 30th ASEAN Summit from April 26-29 at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.
