24 August 2020
- RSIS
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- China Meets with ASEAN Diplomats to Propose Resuming South China Sea Talks
China Meets with ASEAN Diplomats to Propose Resuming South China Sea Talks
Three weeks after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced his country’s new position on the South China Sea, Beijing called diplomats from 10 Southeast Asian countries together for a meeting to convey its worries about the rising risk for conflict over the contested waters.
Dr Collin Koh, a Research Fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies said that while the new US position has given a “morale boost” to the ASEAN claimants, they still must move cautiously on code of conduct talks and try to prevent them from being derailed by the US-China tensions. He added that the US pressure may potentially push China to agree to make the code a legally binding one, but it remains unclear how the parties could ensure its effectiveness and whether enforcement mechanisms would be established.
IDSS / Print
Last updated on 26/08/2020
