Vientiane (AFP) – The top diplomats of China and the United States met for talks on Saturday in Laos, as Washington worries about Beijing’s actions in the South China Sea and its deepening ties with Moscow. The pair will meet for about an hour on the sidelines of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers meeting, US officials said, with China’s foreign ministry stating they would “exchange views on issues of common concern”.
Blinken’s stop in Laos is part of a multi-nation Asia visit aimed at reinforcing regional ties in the face of an increasingly assertive Beijing. Shortly before the meeting, Blinken criticized Beijing’s “escalatory and unlawful actions” in the South China Sea, where China and the Philippines are locked in a territorial dispute. Beijing claims the waterway—through which trillions of dollars of trade passes annually—almost in its entirety, despite an international court ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.
A Filipino sailor lost a thumb in the latest confrontation on June 17, when Chinese coast guard members wielding knives, sticks, and an axe foiled a Philippine Navy attempt to resupply its troops. The clashes have fueled fears of a conflict that could drag in the United States, due to its mutual defense treaty with Manila. On Saturday, Manila stated it had successfully resupplied troops on the Second Thomas Shoal—the focus of clashes in recent months—under a deal agreed with Beijing.
On Friday, Wang called on the Philippines to “honour its commitments” under the deal rather than “backtracking or creating complications,” warning that Beijing would “respond resolutely” to any violation. Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo said the deal “was an important step forward in diffusing tensions and hopefully lead to other areas of cooperation on the South China Sea.” Blinken welcomed the successful resupply mission, while Wang warned the Philippines about deploying a US medium-range missile system on its soil, stating it would “create tension and confrontation in the region and trigger an arms race.”
The US Army mentioned in April that it had deployed the Mid-Range Capability missile system in the northern Philippines for annual joint military exercises, but Philippine military officials later confirmed that the system would be removed from the country.
Blinken is scheduled to travel to Hanoi later Saturday to extend US condolences to Vietnamese officials following the passing of communist leader Nguyen Phu Trong. His stop in Laos is part of a multi-nation Asia visit focused on reinforcing regional ties against an increasingly assertive Beijing.
The top diplomat arrived in Laos two days after the foreign ministers of China and Russia met with the 10-nation ASEAN bloc and each other on the sidelines of the meeting. On Thursday, Wang met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Vientiane, discussing “building a new security architecture for Eurasia,” according to Moscow’s foreign ministry. The pair also agreed to jointly “counter any attempts by extra-regional forces to interfere in Southeast Asian affairs,” it added. China has a strong political and economic partnership with Russia, with NATO members labeling Beijing as a “key facilitator” of Moscow’s involvement in the war in Ukraine.
ASEAN foreign ministers emphasized the importance of “security, stability, safety, and freedom of navigation in and overflight above the South China Sea,” as stated in a joint communique issued on Saturday. Some ministers expressed concern over “serious incidents in the area… which have eroded trust and confidence, increased tensions,” without giving details. The communique also conveyed the bloc’s “deep concern over the escalation of conflicts” in member-state Myanmar.
The country has been ravaged by violence since the military seized power in 2021, sparking renewed fighting with established ethnic minority armed groups and dozens of newer “People’s Defence Forces.” ASEAN has spearheaded so far unsuccessful diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis, with a five-point peace plan agreed between the junta and the bloc now moribund. The five-point consensus “remains our main reference to address the political crisis,” the joint communique stated.
Myanmar’s junta has been banned from high-level ASEAN summits over its coup and crackdown on dissent, with rights groups asserting it may have committed war crimes. Two senior bureaucrats represented Myanmar at the Laos talks. A Southeast Asian diplomat remarked earlier this week that the military’s readiness to re-engage with ASEAN diplomatically was a “sign of the junta’s weakened position.”
© 2024 AFP
