Asian leaders feuded on Monday over how to handle tense maritime territorial disputes with China, overshadowing talks at a regional summit meant to strengthen trade and political ties. The leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations had hoped to present a united front on the South China Sea row as they hosted Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and US President Barack Obama for annual talks.
But that effort broke down just before the ASEAN leaders met Wen, amid divisions between Chinese ally Cambodia and the Philippines. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda also weighed into the debate at the 18-nation East Asia Summit, warning the South China Sea was of concern to the international community and could impact "peace and stability" in the region.
Cambodia, this year's ASEAN chair and host of the summit, said on Sunday that Southeast Asian leaders had agreed not to "internationalise" the disputes and would confine negotiations to those between the bloc and China. The apparent deal would have been a victory for China, which has long insisted that it should only negotiate directly with rival claimants to the sea. The Philippines has consistently sought wider help, such as from close ally the United States, in dealing with its more powerful Asian neighbour on the issue.
Philippine President Benigno Aquino on Monday publicly rebuked Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, saying no such consensus had been reached and he would continue to speak out on the global stage. "The Philippines... has the inherent right to defend its national interests when deemed necessary," Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario told reporters, quoting Aquino's comments to his fellow leaders. The feud echoed unprecedented infighting at an ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting in Phnom Penh in July, which ended for the first time in the bloc's 45-year history without a joint communique.