ASEAN foreign ministers held a special meeting on the issue Friday morning at which Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong informed them in writing of his government's position, saying no communique should be issued "due to bilateral conflict between some ASEAN member states and a neighboring country."
Later Friday, at a news conference, Hor Namhong said, "I am of the view that we do not put the joint communique a hostage of a bilateral dispute of some ASEAN members and another country in the region."
He said claimant countries can settle their respective territorial dispute with China using the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the China Sea which ASEAN and China inked in 2002.
The main bone of contention was a proposed paragraph in the draft joint communique that said, "We discussed in depth the recent developments in the South China Sea, including the situation in the Scarborough Shoal, and expressed serious concern over such developments in the area, particularly those contrary to the provisions of the 1982 UNCLOS related to the exclusive economic zones and continental shelves of coastal states."
"I wish to clarify that Scarborough Shoal issue is a dispute of sovereignty between two countries -- China and the Philippines. It's not an ASEAN issue," Hor Namhong said, adding that the meeting of ASEAN ministers "is not a tribunal to judge whether the Scarborough Shoal belongs to China or the Philippines."
The diplomatic source said Indonesia was at the forefront of trying to come up with language acceptable to all, proposing several formulations, but it was all to no avail.
