Seeing ASEAN-China relations through the prism of the South China Sea dispute is “getting it completely wrong”, said Foreign Affairs Minister and Law Minister K Shanmugam on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit.
Seeing ASEAN-China relations through the prism of the South China Sea dispute is “getting it completely wrong”, said Foreign Affairs Minister and Law Minister K Shanmugam on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday (Apr 26).
Claimant states with ASEAN are pushing for a strong declaration by the 10-member grouping to demand that China stops all reclamation works in the area, but Mr Shanmugam said there was no “specific consensus” on the issue.
Separately, ASEAN is also looking at streamlining its processes and working towards having just one Leaders Summit instead of the twice yearly meetings.
The South China Sea dispute continues to plague ASEAN discussions even before the leaders’ arrival. There was no consensus on getting all 10-member states to declare that China immediately stops reclamation work in the area.
Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam and the Philippines are among the claimant states within ASEAN, over the mineral-rich seas. ASEAN, together with China, are working towards a Code of Conduct on the South China Sea to mitigate conflicts but progress has been slow.
Said Mr Shanmugam: “It requires the parties, China and ASEAN countries, to be willing to and able to negotiate to achieve an outcome. It is not an easy process because it requires all sides to go and say okay, what is it they are willing to do and what is it they are not willing to do.
“Identify dos and don’ts and there are competing interests. One can understand it takes time. We never thought, I never said, and others, that it’s going to be done quickly, but we certainly think it can be done a little bit faster.
Asked if China should cease reclamation works in the area, Mr Shanmugam said: “Unless and until you go and determine sovereignty, you can’t answer questions like that.”
CODE OF CONDUCT NEEDED BEFORE SOVEREIGNTY IS DETERMINED
He added that until sovereignty is determined, the Code of Conduct is needed.
“There are a number of predicate questions. If the island belongs to you then you are entitled to reclaim – so you can’t answer the question, either it should stop, before deciding whether it belongs to you.
“Each of the claimant states have said the island indubitably belongs to them. So how do you answer this question? And then they are disputed. But then some countries say, Well the dispute notwithstanding, this is mine.’ So unless and until you go and determine sovereignty, you can’t answer questions like that.”
“Which is why it is more profitable in our view to look at, in terms of the Code of Conduct, to see what countries can or cannot do and try and agree on something, said Mr Shanmugam.
But framing ASEAN-China relations against the backdrop of the South China Sea dispute is not helpful, said Mr Shanmugam.
“If you start looking at ASEAN-China relations through the prism of South China Sea, you are getting it wrong completely. That may be a sexy way of looking at it. That may make newspaper headlines but that certainly isn’t the facts on the ground.
“The facts on the ground are the very substantial economic, security, political relationship between China and every country in ASEAN and ASEAN as a whole. South China Sea forms part of it and we will not be doing our duty for our country and our people if we forget that.”
2015 Mediacorp News Group