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Summit goes soft on China over sea dispute

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, left, shakes hands with Philippine's President Rodrigo Duterte, right, as Laos' Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith, watches during the 19th ASEAN-China summit, in Vientiane, Laos, Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016. The Philippine government has released what it says are surveillance pictures of Chinese coast guard ships and barges at a disputed shoal in the South China Sea just hours before the Chinese premier attended a regional summit with Southeast Asian leaders. Officials say Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte plans to ask Chinese premier Li Keqiang at the summit in the Laotian capital on Wednesday whether the vessels were on another island-making mission on the Scarborough Shoal. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, left, shakes hands with Philippine's President Rodrigo Duterte, right, as Laos' Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith, watches during the 19th ASEAN-China summit, in Vientiane, Laos, Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016. The Philippine government has released what it says are surveillance pictures of Chinese coast guard ships and barges at a disputed shoal in the South China Sea just hours before the Chinese premier attended a regional summit with Southeast Asian leaders. Officials say Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte plans to ask Chinese premier Li Keqiang at the summit in the Laotian capital on Wednesday whether the vessels were on another island-making mission on the Scarborough Shoal. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe) Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, left, shakes hands with Philippine's President Rodrigo Duterte, right, as Laos' Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith, watches during the 19th ASEAN-China summit, in Vientiane, Laos, Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016. The Philippine government has released what it says are surveillance pictures of Chinese coast guard ships and barges at a disputed shoal in the South China Sea just hours before the Chinese premier attended a regional summit with Southeast Asian leaders. Officials say Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte plans to ask Chinese premier Li Keqiang at the summit in the Laotian capital on Wednesday whether the vessels were on another island-making mission on the Scarborough Shoal. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

By Associated Press 4 min read

VIENTIANE, Laos (AP) – A summit of Southeast Asian countries and world powers is expected to let China off with a muted reprimand over its expansionist activities in the disputed South China Sea, according to a draft of their joint statement to be released Thursday.

The mild language in the statement, despite growing frustrations in the region over China’s claims, is even more striking given that the summit included President Barack Obama, whose administration has repeatedly expressed concern over Beijing’s actions in the resource-rich sea. The lukewarm rebuke is a reflection of Beijing’s diplomatic, economic and military clout within the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which spearheaded the summit Thursday with the United States, China, Russia, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

Together, they are meeting in the East Asia Summit in the Laotian capital.

“We reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace, stability and security and freedom of navigation in and over-flight in the South China Sea,” said the draft of the declaration. The six-page, 28-point declaration devoted one paragraph to the South China Sea.

“Several Leaders remained seriously concerned over recent developments in the South China Sea … We stressed the importance for the parties concerned to resolve their disputes by peaceful means, in accordance with universally recognized principles of international laws,” it said.