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Former Lao diplomat says South China Sea issue not to impact ASEAN-China ties

Xinhua, July 22, 2016 Adjust font size:

A former Lao diplomat said on Friday that the South China Sea issue would not impede the further development of relations between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

"The South China Sea arbitration unilaterally initiated by the Philippines is just an episode of the ASEAN-China cooperation," Soukthavy Keola, a former counselor at the Lao Embassy in China, told Xinhua ahead of an ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting set to open on Sunday.

An ad hoc tribunal handling the South China Sea arbitration issued an award on July 12, sweepingly siding with Manila's cunningly packaged claims. China has dismissed the biased ruling as "null and void with no binding force."

China insists that the South China Sea issue should be solved through bilateral negotiations by relevant parties on the basis of historical facts and in accordance with international law, as well as the Declaration on the Conduct of Parities in the South China Sea (DOC).

China and ASEAN share greater common interests and have a brighter future for development compared with their differences, and the arbitration case is also against the interests of both Chinese and ASEAN people, Soukthavy said.

"If the (South China Sea) issue impacts the ASEAN-China economic cooperation, it will harm the mechanism and role of ASEAN as a regional bloc," said the former diplomat.

Maintaining peace and stability in the region serves the interests of all, and nobody wants turbulence which Soukthavy said will surely make people suffer the most.

If countries directly concerned can discuss the South China Sea issue earnestly with goodwill, they will find a mutually acceptable solution, he said, believing that leaders of the countries have the wisdom to properly handle the problem.

As the rotating ASEAN chairman this year, Laos is striving to play its role of coordination and communication between ASEAN members and China, with a view to enhancing mutual understanding and trust, he said. Endit