Russian foreign minister says final declaration not adopted because of attempts by US, Japan, South Korea, Australia and NZ ‘to turn it into a purely political statement’
Russia and China blocked a proposed consensus statement for the East Asia Summit drafted by south-east Asian countries, mainly over objections to language on the contested
“Asean presented this final draft and said that, essentially, this was a take-it-or-leave-it draft,” the official said on condition of anonymity.The United States, Japan, Australia, South Korea and India all said they could support it, the official said, adding: “The Russians and the Chinese said that they could not and would not proceed with a statement.”
However, the official said, “there was certainly no language that was getting into the nitty gritty of any particular standoff, no language that was favouring any claimant over any other”.on rival claimants, including several Asean countries, notably the Philippines. Asean has spent years negotiating a code of conduct with Beijing for the strategic waterway, with some Asean states insisting it be based on Unclos.
Another sub-clause not agreed said the international environment, including “in the South China Sea, the Korean Peninsula, Myanmar, Ukraine and the Middle East ... present challenges for the region”.
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