Representatives from ASEAN member countries asserted that the US does not stand with any particular party in the East Sea dispute, however, it will have obvious viewpoints in safeguarding rights to freedom and legal use of aerial and water areas stipulated in international law. The American diplomat said Washington hopes disputes will be solved peacefully through diplomatic ways, without coercion and threat to use force.
ASEAN dialogue was the first of scholars and experts from major research centres and institutes of Indonesia and the country’s Foreign Ministry to define the consequences of the ruling on regional stability, as well as post-ruling challenges and opportunities for the central role of ASEAN in maintaining peace and stability in the region.
Siswo Pramono, Director General and Head of the Foreign Ministry’s Policy Analysis and Development Agency, said that ASEAN member states have to date issued their particular statements on the PCA ruling which all emphasised the need to exercise self-restraint, avoid tense actions, and conduct actions in accordance with international law and ASEAN’s legal standards. He also affirmed that the ruling will have certain effects on the ASEAN Economic Community, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement and the region’s security situation.
Vietnamese Ambassador to Indonesia Hoang Anh Tuan said that all parties involved are keeping a close watch on the ruling’s effects, so as to have appropriate responses. Participants agreed that this is a final and legally-binding ruling, whose results depend much on the relevant parties, as there is no common mechanism to enforce it.
The Hague Tribunal also finds no legal basis for China to claim historic rights to resources within the nine-dash line. The country has no historic title over waters of the East Sea. At the same time, China has caused permanent and irreparable harm to the coral reef ecosystem at Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago, the court said.
