ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting Closed Concerns remain about the deepening South China Sea issue

ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting Closes Concerns about the deepening South China Sea issue between the US and China September 12, 23:29

A series of foreign ministers' meetings attended by ASEAN = Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the United States, China, etc. ended on the 12th.

ASEAN has issued a message urging self-restraint on the issue of the South China Sea, where the conflict between the United States and China is deepening, but concerns about further heightened tensions remain.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Vietnam, the chair country, held a press conference after a series of video conference-style meetings.

He suggested that there were discussions at multiple conferences on the growing conflict between the United States and China over the issue of the South China Sea, which has a sovereignty dispute, including military tensions. I don't want to get caught up in the threatening struggle. "

At this conference, ASEAN held a joint statement at the beginning of the Foreign Ministers' Meeting of 10 member countries, and issued a message urging self-restraint with the United States and China in mind while avoiding naming.

However, at the East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting held on the first night, not only did both US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi criticize the other country again, but Foreign Minister Wang Yi participated in the recorded video. It seems that both sides insisted unilaterally.

At the ARF = ASEAN Regional Forum held on the 12th, both of them did not participate due to schedule reasons, and only the representative government officials attended.

ASEAN wanted to ease tensions in the South China Sea through a series of meetings, but it was hard to say that the forum for dialogue was fully utilized, and concerns about further heightened tensions remained.