By JANE PERLEZ, The New York Times
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Disputes
in the strategically important South China Sea proved so contentious here on
Thursday that an annual regional gathering ended without even a basic
diplomatic communiqué.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton,
who met with foreign ministers at the conference of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations, said in remarks clearly aimed at China that it was
important that the disputes be resolved “without coercion, without
intimidation, without threats and without use of force.”
The
influence of China, which was represented here by Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi,
hung over the behind-the-scenes deliberations on the South China Sea, dividing
countries that are beholden to China and those that are willing to stand up to
the Chinese.
The host of
the meeting, Cambodia, which receives large amounts of assistance from Beijing,
failed to play the expected role of intermediary in ironing out differences,
leaving it to Indonesia to try hurriedly to piece an accord together.
Indonesia
has no territorial claims in the South China Sea. The Indonesian foreign
minister, Marty Natalegawa, praised Mrs. Clinton for “showing interest but
giving space” in the effort to reach an agreement.
Territorial
disputes in the South China Sea have increased in the last several months
between the Philippines and China, and between Vietnam and China. One of the
conflicts, which lasted for months, involved a standoff between lightly armed
vessels belonging to China and to the Philippines at the Scarborough Shoal off
the coast of the Philippines. Another dispute centered on a law enacted in
Vietnam claiming sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly Islands, which China
also claims.
As the
long-dominant United States and fast-growing China both seek to increase their
naval power in the Asia-Pacific region, the disputes have become more
threatening.
China has
repeatedly told American diplomats that the energy-rich South China Sea is none
of Washington’s business.
But the
Obama administration has made clear that freedom of navigation is at stake in
one of the world’s most important bodies of water for commerce. In her
statement to the news media, Mrs. Clinton said, “The United States is a
resident Pacific power,” a term intended to signal to China and the countries
of the region that the United States is staying, and even increasing its
presence.
“No nation
can fail to be concerned by the increase in tensions, the uptick in
confrontational rhetoric and disagreement over resource exploitation,” Mrs.
Clinton said.
“We have
seen worrisome instances of economic coercion and the problematic use of
military and government vessels in connection with disputes among fishermen,”
she said. The mention of economic coercion appeared to be a reference to
China’s decision to stop the importing of Philippine bananas and to clamp down
on Chinese tourist groups.
China has
made clear that it wants to deal with the South China Sea disputes with each
country individually, and not through any regional forum. That stance has made
the future of a code of conduct to resolve disputes in the South China Sea
unclear.
Asian
diplomats said Thursday that the main elements of a code of conduct, which the
United States has urged the Southeast Asian group to adopt, had been agreed
upon at this week’s gathering. The diplomats declined to specify the content of
the proposed code.
The
spokesman for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has repeatedly said that
China is willing to discuss a code of conduct only “when conditions mature.”
Last Sunday,
Mrs. Clinton began a tour of Asia that is intended to show that the
administration’s shift to that region reaches beyond military engagement.
The trip
drew negative coverage in the Chinese press on Thursday. People’s Daily wrote
that a trade agreement that Washington is seeking, called the Trans-Pacific
Partnership, which excludes China, was an effort to weaken Asian integration.
China Business News referred to “those hyping up the South China Sea issue,” a
veiled reference to the United States.
At her first
appearance in Phnom Penh on Wednesday evening at what is called the Asean
Regional Forum — which includes countries like the United States and China that
are not members of the group — Mrs. Clinton emphasized American interest in
Southeast Asia.
It would
surprise people, she said, to know that the United States has a larger
investment in the 10 Asean countries as a whole than in China.
As an
example, the United States has had a larger direct investment in Singapore than
in China, said Wayne Morrison, an analyst at the Congressional Research Service
who specializes in Southeast Asia trade. Cumulative direct investment by the
United States in China was $60 billion in 2010, compared with $106 billion in
Singapore, Mr. Morrison said.
The meeting
here was held in a white-pillared conference hall, called the Peace Palace,
that was built for the occasion by the Chinese government. When a Cambodian
reporter asked Mrs. Clinton about American assistance to Cambodia, she made a
reference to the difference between Chinese aid and that provided by the United
States.
“We can’t
point to a big building,” she said, indicating that American aid was directed
at feeding people in need, ensuring the survival of women who give birth and
trying to improve people’s lives, especially those of children.
Bree Feng
contributed research.
Courtesy: The New York Times, July
12, 2012
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