Ministers warned: Inaction on China’s reclamation will undermine ASEAN unity

Southeast Asian foreign ministers expressed concern at China’s land reclamation in the disputed South China Sea. The Philippines warned fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations at a ministers’ retreat in Malaysia that the bloc would lose its credibility if it wouldn’t deal strongly with the “critical issue in our own backyard.” Wary of upsetting relations with its giant neighbor, ASEAN has for years responded cautiously to China’s increasingly assertive moves to stake its claims in the South China Sea, parts of which which several ASEAN countries also claim. The Philippines’ foreign minister said the international community must “say to China that what it is doing is wrong – that it must stop its reclamation activities at once.”

Read the full report on Rappler.