Foreign Ministers from the 10 countries of the Association of South East Asian Nations said on Saturday that they were “seriously concerned” by recent developments in the disputed South China Sea region and will seek a meeting over the issue with China. At the end of their annual retreat, held this year in the lao capital of Vientiane, they noted their worries and reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace, security and stability in the area.
The strategically important South China Sea is at the center of a territorial dispute involving China on one side and a number of ASEAN countries on the other, including Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia. Tensions have ramped up since China began a massive land reclamation program in 2013.
Recent satellite imagery suggests that China has installed surface-to-air missiles in a disputed area in the Paracels chain, prompting accusations that Beijing is militarising the area.