China Warns Against A ‘New Cold War’ At ASEAN Summit In Jakarta

ASEAN-China Summit in Jakarta © Thomson Reuters  

Reuters: China warns against 'new Cold War' at ASEAN summit 

JAKARTA (Reuters) -Chinese Premier Li Qiang said on Wednesday it is important to avoid a "new Cold War" when dealing with conflicts between countries as world leaders gathered in Indonesia amid sharpening geopolitical rivalries across the Indo-Pacific region. 

 Speaking at an annual summit involving members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China, Japan and South Korea, Li said countries needed to "appropriately handle differences and disputes".  

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Update: China warns against ‘new Cold War’ in Jakarta (AFP)  

WNU Editor: Some of the participating governments at the ASEAN summit are not happy with China's new map of the region .... ASEAN leaders meet Chinese Premier Li amid map controversy (Nikkei Asia).

ASEAN Leaders Agree To Create A Hotline To Avoid Accidental Military Clashes In The South China Sea

Regional leaders at the Asean summit in Vientiane, Laos [Reuters]

Wall Street Journal: Asean, China Plan Hotline to Avoid South China Sea Clashes

Relatively minor achievement underscores difficulty in resolving competing territorial claims in the area

VIENTIANE, Laos—China and Southeast Asian nations Wednesday agreed to create a telephone hotline as a fresh step to help avoid accidental military clashes in the South China Sea.

This relatively minor achievement, however, underscored the continuing difficulty in resolving the competing territorial claims in the area, which includes some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.

The accord, formally reached at an annual gathering including leaders from Asia and the U.S., didn’t touch on an international arbitration ruling at The Hague in July that rejected Beijing’s claims to historic and economic rights in the disputed sea. China has said it doesn’t recognize the arbitration case first filed by the Philippines in 2013.

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WNU Editor: This agreement is long overdue.

China Wants No Mention of South China Sea In ASEAN Defense Meeting Statement

New York Times: China Wants No Mention of South Sea in Statement

BEIJING — China is insisting that any mention of the South China Sea be excluded from a communiqué scheduled to be signed on Wednesday in Malaysia at the end of a meeting that includes defense ministers of Southeast Asia, the United States and China, making it highly likely the gathering would end without the usual statement of agreement.

The gathering of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or Asean, was split along the lines of those countries that agreed with China, and those that strongly disagreed, including the United States, Australia and Japan, two senior diplomats involved in the meeting said.

China was asking that the communiqué not even include a factual statement about the South China Sea, said the diplomats, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a delicate negotiation.

More News On China Wanting No Mention of South China Sea In The ASEAN Defense Meeting Statement

ASEAN defense chiefs cancel joint statement over South China Sea row -- Reuters
S. China Sea tensions torpedo Asia defence chiefs statement -- AFP
No Joint Declaration at Asia Defense Meet Amid Sea Tensions -- AP
South China Sea Dispute Sinks ASEAN Joint Statement -- VOA
Asia, U.S. Defense Ministers Fail to Reach South China Sea Agreement -- WSJ
ASEAN signing ceremony canceled over South China Sea disagreement -- Stars and Stripes

ASEAN Forum Fails To Draft A South China Sea Statement

ASEAN Members Fail To Draft South China Sea Statement -- Voice of America

PHNOM PENH — Southeast Asian ministers have failed to reach a common position on the maritime dispute involving the South China Sea. Senior officials emerged from a forum of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, unable to reach their goal of hammering out a joint statement representing the members’ views on the issue.

ASEAN foreign ministers have been attempting all week to craft a statement summarizing its members' position on territorial disputes in the South China Sea. But when senior ministers emerged from the Asean Regional Forum Thursday - the pinnacle of this week’s meetings - disappointment was evident.

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More News On The ASEAN Forum And The Failure To Draft A South China Sea Statement

Asean Fails to Reach Accord on South China Sea Disputes -- Bloomberg Businessweek
China Ready to Join South China Sea Talks -- Voice of America
Delays, Disputes Beset ASEAN Resolution of South China Seas -- Voice of America
Clinton Urges Continued Talks on South China Sea -- Wall Street Journal
U.S. urges countries to resolve South China Sea territorial dispute -- Toronto Star
Clinton warns Beijing on sea dispute -- Financial Times
Tiny island in South China Sea is stirring up tensions -- USA Today
Why won't China sign the South China Sea code of conduct? -- Ralph Jennings, Christian Science Monitor

ASEAN News Highlights

A Look At The Top Issues At Asian Security Meeting -- New York Times/AP

BALI, Indonesia (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and top diplomats from Europe and Asia gather over the weekend to discuss recent flare-ups in the South China Sea, North Korea's nuclear weapons program and other issues that threaten to undermine regional security.

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More News On The This Week's ASEAN Meeting

China, ASEAN agree on plans to solve South China Sea dispute -- CNN
ASEAN, China Agree on Guidelines for China Sea Settlement -- Voice of America
China, ASEAN agree on behavior ‘guidelines’ for disputed, resource-rich waters -- Washington Post
ASEAN Supports Talks to Resolve N. Korean Nuclear Dispute -- Voice of America
ASEAN Pushes for Resumption of NKorea Nuke Talks -- New York Times/AP
US Rules Out Talks With North Korea At ASEAN Forum -- RTT News
China seeks shared development, pragmatic cooperation with ASEAN: FM -- Xinhuanet
Myanmar Not Seen Pursuing Nukes, ASEAN Says -- Global Security Newswire