Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




SUPERPOWERS
ASEAN calls for South China Sea hotline
by Staff Writers
Phnom Penh (AFP) Nov 17, 2012


Southeast Asian countries called on Saturday for a hotline with China to defuse tensions over their increasingly divisive maritime territorial rows.

Association of Southeast Asian Nations secretary-general Surin Pitsuwan publicly floated the proposal for the South China Sea hotline ahead of three days of talks involving the region's leaders in Cambodia starting on Sunday.

"We can give it a sense of urgency that, if there is anything developing that we all will be phoned... trying to consult, trying to coordinate, trying to contain any possible spillover of any... incident, accident, miscalculation, misunderstanding," Surin told reporters.

Surin was speaking after Southeast Asian foreign ministers' met in Phnom Penh to pave the way for the annual ASEAN leaders' summit on Sunday.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, US President Barack Obama and leaders from six other nations are scheduled to then join their ASEAN counterparts for an expanded East Asia Summit starting on Monday.

Analysts said the South China Sea disputes were set to overshadow the Cambodia meetings, during which countries will be aiming to push forward policies on human rights and opening up trade.

ASEAN members Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei, as well as Taiwan, have claims to parts of the sea, home of some of the world's most important shipping lanes and believed to be rich in fossil fuels.

But China insists it has sovereign rights to virtually all of the sea, and the Philippines and Vietnam have expressed concerns that their giant Asian neighbour has become increasingly aggressive in staking its claim.

The dispute led to unprecedented divisions within ASEAN this year.

An ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting in Phnom Penh ended in July without issuing a joint communique for the first time in the bloc's 45-year history because of differences over how to handle the South China Sea issue.

The Philippines and Vietnam had wanted the communique to make specific reference to their disputes with China.

But Cambodia, the hosts of the talks and a close China ally, blocked the moves.

Surin said ASEAN members had largely healed their rifts, and were intent on ensuring the South China Sea issue did not sidetrack the Cambodia talks.

"I don't think it's going to be confrontational, I don't think it's going to be overly contentious," he said.

Nevertheless, the issue is likely to flare again on Monday with Obama keen to reassure the Philippines and other US allies.

Obama is likely to reiterate that the United States has a fundamental interest in freedom of navigation in the sea, while urging ASEAN and China to agree on a code of conduct for the area, according to analysts.

China has long bristled at what it perceives as US interference in the South China Sea, and was upset at last year's East Asia Summit in Indonesia when Obama succeeded in having the issue discussed there.

Chinese vice foreign minister Fu Ying warned on Saturday that China did not want a repeat and that the South China Sea should not be on the agenda at the East Asia Summit.

"Discussion of the South China Sea issue should return to the framework of China and ASEAN. Discussing the issue in other forums will interfere with the direction of cooperation," Fu said.

Meanwhile, ASEAN leaders are aiming to endorse on Sunday a declaration they say will promote human rights within their 10 countries but which has drawn widespread criticism.

More than 60 rights groups, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, issued a statement on Thursday urging ASEAN to revise a draft of the declaration.

ASEAN members are also aiming to kickstart negotiations in Phnom Penh over a giant free trade zone with China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.

The 16 nations account for roughly half the global population and around a third of the world's annual gross domestic product.

.


Related Links
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








SUPERPOWERS
China top censor's new leadership role raises fears
Beijing (AFP) Nov 16, 2012
Chinese propaganda boss Liu Yunshan has risen to the country's top leadership in what could be a perilous sign for online debate, critics of his censorship diktats over the last decade said Friday. China's population of Internet users - the world's largest at 538 million - have become increasingly vocal on its booming social media sites despite the efforts of the ruling party's highly secr ... read more


SUPERPOWERS
China's Chang'e-3 to land on moon next year

Moon crater yields impact clues

Study: Moon basin formed by giant impact

NASA's LADEE Spacecraft Gets Final Science Instrument Installed

SUPERPOWERS
Mars radiation levels not lethal to humans

NASA Rover Providing New Weather and Radiation Data About Mars

Rover's 'SAM' Lab Instrument Suite Tastes Soil

Survey At 'Matijevic Hill' Wrapping Up

SUPERPOWERS
SciTechTalk: All work and no play?

Get some bed rest - all 21 days of it

Latest China military hardware displayed at airshow

Obama Win Keeps NASA's Space Plans on Course

SUPERPOWERS
Mr Xi in Space

China plans manned space launch in 2013: state media

China to launch manned spacecraft

Tiangong 1 Parked And Waiting As Shenzhou 10 Mission Prep Continues

SUPERPOWERS
Space station command changes

Russia restores space contact after cable rupture

Russia loses contact with satellites, space station

Cut in Russian link to space station not serious: NASA

SUPERPOWERS
Arianespace's fourth Spaceport mission with Soyuz ready for fueling

Ariane 5's sixth launch of 2012

Ariane 5 is poised for Arianespace's launch with the EUTELSAT 21B and Star One C3 satellites

Ariane 5 orbits EUTELSAT 21B and Star One C3 satellites

SUPERPOWERS
Lowell astronomer, collaborators point the way for exoplanet search

A Reborn Planetary Nebula

Lost in Space: Rogue Planet Spotted?

Lowell Astronomer, Collaborators Point The Way For Exoplanet Search

SUPERPOWERS
Andrews Space To Manufacture Sinclair Rods

Raytheon submits Space Fence proposal to the USAF

Larger version of Kindle Fire tablet unleashed

Lockheed Martin Submits Space Fence Radar Proposal to USAF to Detect and Track Orbital Objects




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement