The South China Sea is dotted with reefs and rocky outcroppings that several governments claim, including China and the Philippines. “We reaffirmed the importance of maintaining and promoting peace, security, stability, safety and freedom of navigation in and over-flight above the South China Sea,” the joint statement said. VIENTIANE, LAOS—China scored a diplomatic victory Monday, avoiding criticism by Southeast Asia’s main grouping over its territorial expansion in the South China Sea even though some of the bloc’s members are victims of Beijing’s actions. In a joint communique released after their talks, the foreign ministers of ASEAN said only that they “remain seriously concerned over recent and ongoing developments” in the South China Sea . Most significantly, it failed to mention a recent ruling by an international arbitration panel in a dispute between the Philippines and China that said Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea were illegal and that the Philippines was justifiably the aggrieved party.

Source: thestar July 25, 2016 13:52 UTC