Lessons from Life 12 August 2012 - Malaysia urges ASEAN to unite over South China Sea

"Malaysia urges ASEAN to unite over South China Sea- AFP 12 August 2012

KOTA KINABALU, Malaysia: Malaysia's foreign minister urged Southeast Asian countries on Sunday to settle their overlapping claims in the South China Sea before bringing them up with Beijing.

Anifah Aman's comments, following an hour-long meeting with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi, imply that Malaysia wants ASEAN to present a more united front against an increasingly assertive China.

Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, all members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), have overlapping claims in the resource-rich sea, as does Taiwan.

China claims sovereignty over almost all of it.Anifah said a repeat of confrontation, such as a June standoff between Philippine and Chinese ships over Scarborough Shoal, should be avoided.

"There are overlapping claims by member countries. Let us discuss these among ASEAN countries first before we talk to China," he added."We can only achieve this objective in the South China Sea if all parties agree. Then China can appreciate this and realise it is ASEAN's wish."

ASEAN foreign ministers failed to move ahead on the South China Sea issue at a regional ministers' meeting in Phnom Penh in July. The dispute prevented ASEAN from producing a joint communique for the first time in the bloc's 45-year history.

China's foreign minister, who met Malaysia's prime minister on Saturday, did not attend a press conference with Anifah but told reporters that China "firmly" supported ASEAN community building."

Anifah said that ASEAN and China should work toward "the early conclusion" of a long-stalled regional code of conduct designed to reduce tensions over fishing, shipping rights and oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea."

A PINK ELEPHANT in the room with intelligent GROWN Men and Women pretending NOT to see. This is how 'politics' play out!!

Lessons for me are:

1. when it comes to self-interest, any alliance can crumple when the weakest in the chain blinks!;

2. Asean wants the numbers and disregard the quality of its members. Some in the current association are not ready as they are so dependent on some patron nations. That is where the 'pink elephant' need to be tackled;

3. China will have to play by the International Laws on this one. So, there is really no need to waste time on diplomacy if they are determined to disregard the reality. It has once a decade political leadership change coming up, it has a shaky economy due to over-reliance on unsustainable property development where the ordinary city folks feel very stressed, and the rich-poor gap and resentment by the people about official corruption. So, it will gladly play the 'defend our territory' card to 'focus' and 'garnered' nationalism!!

Equal access and sharing of the costs and benefit of exploring the supposedly rick resources in the South China sea islands is the best way to go. Really!