It’s been a rough week for China’s diplomats. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is visiting the United States, leading to a litany of overt or implied criticisms of China’s ‘assertive’ behavior in disputed maritime regions. And even as Abe began his U.S. travels, the ASEAN Summit, held in Malaysia, inevitably had to address the issue of China’s actions in the South China Sea.
The resulting ASEAN statement criticized land reclamation activities as having the potential to “undermine peace, security, and stability in the South China Sea.” ASEAN members also “reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security and freedom of navigation in and over-flight over the South China Sea” and urged the speedy conclusion of a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.
Those words, though tougher than past statements, are still relatively toothless. As The Diplomat’s Prashanth Parameswaran put it, “the South China Sea question received significant attention but saw little progress.” But even that scant progress has earned China’s wrath.
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