November 4, 2015

Territorial disputes disrupted a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) this week. ASEAN is an organization of 10 Southeast Asian countries. It works for peace and stability in the region by promoting political, economic, cultural, and social cooperation among its members. Delegates from member nations meet each year to discuss policy and consider development projects. Officials from China and the United States, neither of which are ASEAN members, also attended this week’s meeting.

The China Sea is the name of two seas of the Pacific Ocean along the east coast of Asia. The East China Sea extends north from Taiwan to Japan and the Koreas. The South China Sea is connected to the East China Sea by the Taiwan Strait. The South China Sea includes the Gulf of Tonkin and Gulf of Thailand on the west and Manila Bay on the east. The ownership of several island groups in the area, including the Paracel, Senkaku, and Spratly islands, is disputed by neighboring countries. Credit: WORLD BOOK map

A major issue in recent years has been China’s increasing activity in the South China Sea. These efforts include land reclamation projects and the construction of runways and other structures on islands or coral reefs in regions over which China claims ownership. However, these ownership claims are disputed by Brunei, the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Some of the disputed areas have rich fishing waters and lie along major shipping lanes. Some experts believe that deposits of oil and natural gas may lie under the seabed beneath several of the islands. In addition, some international security experts believe China’s actions in the South China Sea signal a military buildup. Chinese officials claim the developments are for civilian purposes.

Traditionally, at the end of an annual ASEAN summit, representatives agree on a closing statement addressing the issues discussed at the meeting. At this week’s meeting, held in Malaysia, representatives clashed over whether or not to mention China’s land reclamation activities in the closing statement. U.S. officials claimed that Chinese representatives strongly objected to mentioning Chinese developments in the statement. China, in turn, accused “certain countries” from outside the region of interfering and trying to include irrelevant information in the statement. Ultimately, no closing statement was issued because no agreement could be reached. U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter noted that “this was an ASEAN decision but in our view no statement is better than one that avoids the important issue of China’s reclamation and militarization in the South China Sea.”