Southeast Asian leaders were upbeat yesterday about progress made on an ambitious plan to weld the region into an EU-style economic community as a counterweight to Asian powerhouse China, while efforts were stalling on South China Sea disputes.
Leaders attending the ASEAN summit in Brunei had hoped China would soon agree to start talks on a nonaggression pact to prevent a major clash in the disputed territories that could smoke out their region’s robust economies.
However, China has given no clear indication when it would agree to negotiate such a stopgap accord, known in ASEAN parlance as a “code of conduct.”
The ASEAN leaders said in a joint statement after the summit that they have asked their foreign ministers “to continue to work actively with China on the way forward for the early conclusion of a code of conduct.”
“We all agreed to encourage continuing discussions, dialogues and consultations at all levels, especially claimant countries, and to keep the lines of communication open,” said Brunei’s leader, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, host of this year’s ASEAN summits.
Rival claimants, the leaders said, should resolve the disputes peacefully “without resorting to the threat or use of force while exercising self-restraint in the conduct of activities.”
Thailand has proposed a meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers where they could again discuss the disputes, before they meet their Chinese counterpart in Beijing sometime in October, diplomats said.
Bolkiah proposed an emergency hotline to avoid misunderstandings, such as when fishermen take shelter in a disputed area amid a storm, an act that could be mistaken for an intrusion.
During the summit, ASEAN leaders also expressed concern about North Korea’s latest threats.
Although overshadowed by security issues, an ambitious plan by ASEAN to transform itself into an EU-like community of more than 600 million people by the end of 2015 has sparked more optimism, with diplomats saying the bloc was on track to meet the deadline.
About 77 percent of the work to turn the bustling region into a single market and production base, first laid out in 2007, has been done, the leaders said.
However, non-tariff barriers and regulatory hurdles that impede investments and business still need to be abolished, they said. They announced that negotiations would start on May 9 for a vast free-trade area with key trading partners China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. Free-trade talks with Hong Kong will also be launched.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source