Sea spats dragged into ASEAN summit

Southeast Asian leaders met Sunday for a historic summit in Myanmar with the South China Sea issue being dragged into the ASEAN meeting.

Hosted for the first time by Myanmar in its capital Nay Pyi Taw, the summit is set to be dominated by discussion of the South China Sea, which is crisscrossed by key shipping lanes and thought to contain vast energy reserves.

In his opening address, Myanmar President Thein Sein said "regional and global issues of great concern to ASEAN will be extensively discussed among ourselves," without directly mentioning the escalating maritime crisis.

ASEAN foreign ministers expressed "serious concerns over the ongoing developments" in a joint statement released Saturday.

Philippine President Benigno Aquino also vowed to bring up the maritime territorial disputes with China during the ASEAN meeting.

"We wish to emphasize, uphold and follow the rule of law in resolving these territorial issues so that the rights of all countries involved will be recognized and respected," Aquino said in a speech at Manila airport on Saturday.

Even though not all ASEAN members are involved in territorial disputes with China, Aquino said the issue concerned the security of the region as a whole.

"The fact that the summit is dominated by discussion of the South China Sea is unprecedented. Although the ASEAN members did not openly name the country they claim to have concerns with, it is obvious from their rhetorics that they have taken the US's stance. Obama's Asia tour has really give some countries confidence over the South China Sea issues," Zhuang Guotu, a professor from Xiamen University, told the Global Times.

In response to the ASEAN foreign ministers' statement, Hua Chunying, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman, said on Saturday that the South China Sea issue is not a problem between China and ASEAN.

"The Chinese side is always opposed to one or two countries' attempts to use the South China Sea issue to harm the overall friendship and cooperation between China and the ASEAN," said Hua.

Hua said China stands ready to work together with the ASEAN to continue implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) comprehensively and effectively to safeguard peace and stability in the region.

Tensions flared this week after Beijing relocated a deep-water oil rig into territory also claimed by Hanoi.

The area around the drilling well has since seen several collisions between Chinese and Vietnamese ships, with each blaming the other for the rise in tensions.

On Sunday, some 1,000 people staged one of the Vietnam's largest rallies against Beijing in front of the Chinese Embassy in Hanoi, capital of Vietnam.

"Hanoi is well aware that permitting this kind of activity is a clear message to Beijing," said Professor Jonathan London at City University of Hong Kong.