BEIJING, China - A US-led plan for a freeze on provocative acts in the South China Sea has been met with contempt from China and some Southeast Asian nations on Saturday, in an apparent setback to Washington's efforts to rein in China's hostile stance on the region.
China is reportedly annoyed that the United States has used a regional meeting in Myanmar this weekend to call for a moratorium on 'hostile' actions such as China's planting of an oil rig in Vietnamese waters in May.
The Philippines, an ally of the United States, has also called for a freeze as part of a three-step plan to ease tension in the resource-rich sea, through which passes USD $5 trillion of trade a year.
US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Naypyidaw, the capital of Myanmar, on Saturday for the ASEAN Regional Forum, joining foreign ministers and other diplomats from China, Russia, Japan, India, Australia, the European Union and Southeast Asia.
Secretary-General of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Le Luong Minh, said the American proposal was not discussed by ASEAN ministers because there was already a 2002 mechanism in place to curtail sensitive action such as land reclamation and building on disputed islands.
Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan also lay claim to parts of the South China Sea, although China claims 90% of the sea, tensions have risen between the countries over China's flouting of the 2002 agreement.
While several ASEAN nations support the US' stance on China, others are reluctant to antagonize Asia's economic giant.
The ASEAN chairmanship for 2014 is held by Myanmar which means it not only hosts but presides over the organisation's meetings including the is weekend's ASEAN Regional Forum.
BEIJING, China - A US-led plan for a freeze on provocative acts in the South China Sea has been met with contempt from China and some Southeast Asian nations on Saturday, in an apparent setback to Washington's efforts to rein in China's hostile stance on the region.
China is reportedly annoyed that the United States has used a regional meeting in Myanmar this weekend to call for a moratorium on 'hostile' actions such as China's planting of an oil rig in Vietnamese waters in May.
The Philippines, an ally of the United States, has also called for a freeze as part of a three-step plan to ease tension in the resource-rich sea, through which passes USD $5 trillion of trade a year.
US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Naypyidaw, the capital of Myanmar, on Saturday for the ASEAN Regional Forum, joining foreign ministers and other diplomats from China, Russia, Japan, India, Australia, the European Union and Southeast Asia.
Secretary-General of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Le Luong Minh, said the American proposal was not discussed by ASEAN ministers because there was already a 2002 mechanism in place to curtail sensitive action such as land reclamation and building on disputed islands.
Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan also lay claim to parts of the South China Sea, although China claims 90% of the sea, tensions have risen between the countries over China's flouting of the 2002 agreement.
While several ASEAN nations support the US' stance on China, others are reluctant to antagonize Asia's economic giant.
The ASEAN chairmanship for 2014 is held by Myanmar which means it not only hosts but presides over the organisation's meetings including the is weekend's ASEAN Regional Forum.
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