Malaysia FM makes sudden visit to Manila to discuss ASEAN's common position on sea disputes

Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman made a sudden trip to Manila Friday to meet and discuss with his Philippine counterpart, Albert del Rosario, a "disagreement" within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) over the handling of territorial disputes with China.


The visit by Aman, who met Del Rosario at the Department of Foreign Affairs at around 7 a.m., was the latest in the flurry of sudden trips by top diplomats concerned by the ASEAN rift and wanted to seek a quick resolution.


A DFA statement said Del Rosario and Aman discussed “issues of common concern, among which was the statement on ASEAN’s six-point principles on the South China Sea.”


At the meeting, Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez said Malaysia “has agreed to the six-point principles that has already been discussed between the Philippines and Indonesia” two days ago.


Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa flew to Manila on Wednesday and met Del Rosario to seek his support for the adoption by ASEAN of the six principles to mend the differences and foster the regional bloc’s unity.


Natalegawa proposed that ASEAN agree on the full implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea or DOC; support for the guidelines of the DOC; need for early conclusion of regional code of conduct on the South China Sea; principle of full respect for universally-recognized principles of international laws, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea; continued exercise of self-restraint and non-use of force; and the peaceful resolution of conflicts.


Manila, which has long been advocating the same principles, backed Natalegawa’s proposal, which will reportedly be issued as a joint statement by the ASEAN.
Hernandez did not say if there is already a consensus for a unified statement outlining the six principles.


“We hope to hear from Indonesia as soon as possible,” he said. “We have to wait for the announcement of the foreign minister and I heard it will be before the weekend.”


Last week, Cambodia, this year’s host of the ASEAN’s rotating chairmanship and a known Chinese ally, did not issue a joint communiqué when its Foreign Minister, Hor Namhong, blocked any mention of the Philippines’ territorial row with China in Bajo de Masinloc, also known as Scarborough Shoal, on April 10.


The non-issuance of the communiqué, a traditional statement issued at the end of ASEAN meetings, was unprecedented in the 45-year-history of the ASEAN, which also includes Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar.


Territorial disputes involving four ASEAN members –- the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei -- and China and Taiwan over the resource-rich waters, also known as West Philippine Sea, has divided the ASEAN.


While some members like the Philippines and Vietnam are aligned with the United States and other Western countries calling for a rules-based and multilateral approach in solving the disputes, other members aligned with China like Cambodia and Laos toe Beijing’s line either by not openly backing a multilateral approach or opposing it outright.


The Philippines and Vietnam, two claimants that recently had the most number of confrontations with China over the West Philippine Sea, have accused Beijing of becoming increasingly aggressive in asserting its claims.


Overlapping claims to the contested waters, islands and reefs, where undersea gas deposits have been discovered in several areas, is feared to be Asia's next flashpoint for war. - Philippines News Agency (July 20, 2012)