China has agreed with Brunei, Cambodia and Laos that the South China Sea territorial dispute should not affect relations between Beijing and ASEAN, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
Four of 10-nation ASEAN’s members — the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei — have rival claims to parts of the South China Sea with China, which says virtually the entire sea belongs to it. Taiwan also claims parts of the South China Sea. China is the biggest trade partner of many ASEAN nations.
Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) spoke to reporters in the Laotian capital, Vientiane, on Saturday and was quoted by his ministry as saying China had reached “an important consensus” with Brunei, Cambodia and Laos.
The South China Sea problem is not a China-ASEAN dispute and it “should not affect China-ASEAN relations,” the ministry said in a statement, referring to their agreement.
China’s maritime claims are ASEAN’s most contentious issue, as its members struggle to balance mutual support with their growing economic relations with Beijing.
The group, which also includes Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Myanmar, in February expressed serious concern about growing international tension over the disputed waters.
Land reclamation and escalating activity has increased tensions and could undermine peace, security and stability in the region, ASEAN said in a statement at that time.
The US has criticized China’s building of artificial islands and facilities in the sea and has sailed warships close to disputed territory to assert the right to freedom of navigation.
Beijing seeks to keep the South China Sea off of the agenda at multilateral forums, but other claimants, such as the Philippines, have sought to raise the issue at ASEAN summits.
The dispute has been divisive for ASEAN.
Cambodia, a close ally of Beijing, was accused of driving a wedge in the bloc in 2012 when its refusal to be drawn on China’s actions in the sea resulted in a customary communique at the end of an ASEAN summit not being issued for the first time.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique