China has agreed with Brunei, Cambodia and Laos that the South China Sea territorial dispute should not affect relations between Beijing’s and Asean, China’s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.
Four members of the 10-member Asean – 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. China is the biggest trade partner of many Asean nations.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi 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 was not a China-Asean dispute and it “should not affect China-Asean relations”, the ministry said in a statement, referring to their agreement.
