The Jakarta Globe, July 21, 2012
Member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have issued a joint communique on disputes in the South China Sea, an Indonesian official said on Friday, after Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa shuttled between five Asean countries to build a consensus.
A joint statement from Asean’s foreign ministers said member states had reaffirmed “the non-use of force by parties” in the sea.
Friday’s statement came more than a week after Asean foreign ministers failed for the first time to issue a joint declaration at the conclusion of their annual meeting. Host Cambodia had rejected a proposal by the Philippines and Vietnam to make specific references to their separate territorial disputes with China in the statement.
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