... Beijing will likely raise the stakes by providing an additional economic lifeline to Pyongyang," the Malaysian analyst suggested.
"Even if Trump had promised a quid pro quo in terms of tacit US recognition over Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea, it won't go down well with US-friendly nations in ASEAN. Furthermore, no one would trust a US president who will attack a nation just days after proffering rapprochement, as was the case with Syria," he noted.
Indeed, a few days before the Pentagon's missile strike against Syria, the Trump ...
... “democratic opposition” have already led to several incidents in bilateral relations, and there is no blind trust here.
Imaginechina / Liu jianhua
Vasily Kashin:
South China Sea — Hague Tribunal and
Military Tensions
Singapore is involved in the South China Sea problem as an ASEAN-appointed coordinator of relations with China, and it was forced to support the decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration which in July ruled in favour of the Philippines in their action against China, no matter how vaguely the statement of ...
... and the blighted lives of future generations of Vietnamese babies over a few islands?
Or will it resort to another round of musical chairs when future regional developments require an opportunistic recalibration yet again? As for China and claimant ASEAN nations, all parties should continue holding regional dialogues towards a final settlement in the South China Sea, no matter how long it takes.
Asia should resolve its own problems without entangling Janus-faced outsiders.
... diplomatic rhetoric. It took decades for Malaysia to resolve a territorial dispute with both Indonesia (Ligatan and Sipadan Islands) and Singapore (Pedra Branca).
It's not just China that is laying claim to contested waters or islands in the South China Sea. Many ASEAN nations have similar disputes among themselves. But again, the Western media mendaciously depicts these disputes as a China vs ASEAN affair.
Panview: Can we expect ASEAN to play a larger diplomatic role in the Asia-Pacific region? What is the ...
... intensified Sino-Japanese rivalry has an impact on the processes within ASEAN. Beijing and Tokyo are striving to identify new partners and to consolidate their positions. Japan is inclined to support Southeast Asian countries in territorial disputes in the South China Sea. However, ASEAN countries are not ready to get involved in a confrontation, let alone to go against their specific economic interests
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In terms of the technical aspects of the issue, ASEAN countries have no warships able to counter the strength of China’s ...
