ASEAN summit held today Focus on whether you can set a strong attitude toward China

ASEAN Summit Meeting Held Today: Focusing on China's Strong Attitude Focusing on June 26, 7:37

Due to the spread of the new coronavirus infection, the summit of the ASEAN-Southeast Asian Nations, which was postponed for more than two months, will be held in a video conference format on the 26th. Even if each country is busy pursuing infection control, it will be interesting to see if ASEAN can unite its strong stance towards China, which is intensifying its activities in the South China Sea.

The ASEAN Summit was originally scheduled to be held in Da Nang in central Vietnam this April, but it will be held in a video conference format on the 26th while member countries restrict traffic due to the spread of infection. became.

It is expected that the conference will discuss issues such as dealing with the region's economy, which will be hit hard by the spread of infection, and the South China Sea issue, in which some member states contend for sovereignty with China.

Among them, in the South China Sea, as each country is busy responding to the new coronavirus, China has established new administrative areas on islands that are becoming military bases and dispatched ocean research vessels off Malaysia. Is being activated.

Vietnam, which remains a confrontation with China, wants to curb China's movements through the summit meeting, but ASEAN is united in the presence of some member countries, such as Cambodia, who place importance on relations with China. Attention is paid to whether or not you can create a strong posture.

Movement around the South China Sea

While each country is busy responding to the spread of new coronavirus infections, China is still accelerating its move into the South China Sea.

The Chinese government announced on April 18 that it will establish new administrative districts that respectively administer the Nansha Islands, the English name and the Spratly Islands, as well as the Xisha Islands, the English name and the Paracel Islands, which are in conflict with each other over sovereignty.

In addition, according to the Vietnamese government, from April to this month, the damage of Vietnamese fishing boats being sunk by the Chinese Coast Guard ships in the South China Sea or being attacked by Chinese ships and robbing of fish and equipment one after another. It has occurred.

According to the US think tank CSIS = Institute for Strategic and International Studies, a Chinese marine research vessel has been conducting research activities in Malaysia's EEZ = Exclusive Economic Zone since late April.

Under such circumstances, not only Vietnam, which has sharpened its confrontation with China, but also ASEAN countries, which have so far avoided direct confrontation by focusing on economic relations, do not believe in China. The movement to change the diplomatic posture is becoming more noticeable.

The Philippine government, on 2nd of this month, effectively reviewed the decision it had unilaterally announced that it would revoke the agreement that established the legal status of US troops sent to the Philippines, and the relationship with the United States, which had been jerky until now, I showed the attitude to attach importance to.

Furthermore, on the 9th of this month, it was announced that the pier for the army that had been under construction on one of the islands of the Nansha Islands was completed, and the state of the ceremony in which the Ministry of Defense and the top of the army participated was released to local media. In the future, he also announced a plan to develop a runway for military aircraft to take off and land.

In addition, Indonesia's foreign minister expressed concern at a conference last month that he could increase tensions when the cooperation of each country is extremely important in the fight against the new coronavirus. It then revealed that China has sent a letter to the United Nations saying that it does not recognize the sovereignty claimed in the South China Sea.

Vietnamese experts are wary

Regarding China's increasing activity in the South China Sea, Mr. Nguyen Hung Sung, director of the South China Sea Institute of Vietnam Foreign Studies Institute said, "There are also new movements that have not been seen in the past few years, such as designation of administrative districts. However, there is a possibility that China, which aims to increase its presence in the South China Sea, is trying to establish a strategic advantage by using the spread of the new coronavirus infection,'' he said. I showed a feeling.

In addition, he pointed out that "Vietnam, as the chair country, must raise the awareness that the peace and stability of the South China Sea is the common interest of ASEAN, and that the cooperation of member countries is essential," he said. He stressed the need to work with member countries that have a diplomatic attitude.