China seeks deeper economic ties with ASEAN at summit

Premier Li Quiang (centre) arrived in Laos talking up the need for stronger connections with ASEAN. (AP PHOTO)

Chinese Premier Li Qiang has called for deeper market integration with Southeast Asia during annual summit talks, where concerns over Beijing's aggression in the disputed South China Sea was raised.

The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations' meeting with Li followed recent violent confrontations at sea between China and ASEAN members Philippines and Vietnam, that sparked growing unease over China's increasingly assertive actions in the disputed waters. 

Li did not mention the row in his opening speech in Laos' capital but said intensifying trade relations and creating an “ultra large-scale market” were keys to economic prosperity.

"The global economy is still seeing a sluggish recovery, protectionism is rising and geopolitical turbulence has brought instability and uncertainty to our development," Li said on Thursday. 

"Strengthening market co-ordination and synchronisation is an important direction for our further co-operation."

Philippine's President Ferdinand Marcos Jr listens at the ASEAN summit
ASEAN-China co-operation isn't separate from the sea dispute, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr says.

"Strengthening market co-ordination and synchronisation is an important direction for our further co-operation," he said.

China is ASEAN's No.1 trading partner and its third-largest source of foreign investment - a key reason why the bloc has been muted in its criticisms of Chinese actions in the South China Sea. 

ASEAN leaders have repeatedly called only for restraint and respect for international law.

ASEAN and China said they expect to conclude negotiations to upgrade their free trade pact in 2025. 

China is ASEAN's No. 1 trading partner and its third-largest source of foreign investment - a key reason why the bloc has been muted in its criticisms of Chinese actions in the South China Sea. 

ASEAN members Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei along with Taiwan have overlapping claims with China, which claims sovereignty over virtually all of the South China Sea. 

Chinese and Philippine vessels have clashed repeatedly in 2024, and Vietnam said last week that Chinese forces assaulted its fishermen in the disputed sea. 

Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr made clear to Li during talks Thursday that ASEAN-China co-operation cannot be separated from the sea dispute, according to an ASEAN official who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the discussion. 

The official said Marcos wanted to prioritise negotiations on a code of conduct to govern behaviour in the sea to ensure peace.

Li responded by saying the South China Sea was “a shared home” and China had an obligation to protect its sovereignty, the official said.

The Philippines, a longtime US ally, has been critical of other ASEAN countries for not doing more to get China to back away. 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives in Vientiane, Laos
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to raise China's aggression at the summit.

Talks on the code of conduct have been ongoing for years, hampered by sticky issues including disagreements over whether the pact should be binding.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who arrived in Vientiane on Thursday for the meetings, is expected to raise the issue of China’s aggression in the sea, officials said. 

The US has deployed navy ships and fighter jets to patrol the waterway and promote freedom of navigation and overflight. 

China has warned the US not to meddle in the disputes.

ASEAN leaders, who held a summit among themselves on Wednesday, also separately met new Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol before convening an ASEAN Plus Three summit along with China.

The bloc will also hold individual talks with dialogue partners Australia, Canada, India, the US and the United Nations that will culminate in an East Asia Summit of 18 nations including Russia and New Zealand on Friday.

Former ASEAN secretary-general Ong Keng Yong said despite challenges in addressing disputes in the South China Sea and the Myanmar civil war, ASEAN's central role in sustaining relative peace and progress in the region was undisputable.

“Big powers cannot do what they wish in the region,” Ong said.

After the Myanmar army ousted an elected government in 2021, fighting there has descended into a civil war that has killed nearly 6000 people and displaced more than three million.

The military has backtracked on an ASEAN peace plan it agreed to in late 2021 and fighting has continued with pro-democracy guerillas and ethnic rebels. 

Myanmar's top generals have been shut out of ASEAN summits since the coup. 

Thailand will host an informal ASEAN ministerial-level consultation on Myanmar in mid-December as frustration grows in the bloc over the prolonged conflict.

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