Background Briefing:

Thayer Consultancy
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ASEAN Secretariat Rescinds

China- ASEAN Joint Statement
Carlyle A. Thayer
June 15, 2016
[client name deleted]
The special meeting of ASEAN and China foreign ministers in Yunnan yesterday
(June 14th) appeared to be a real special one, with a statement of serious
concerns over South China Sea developments by ASEAN's foreign ministers
retracted just some hours after its release.
Q1. How do you explain this confusion?
ANSWER: The ASEAN Secretariat issuyed the joint statement by ASEAN Foreign
Ministers to its members. The Malaysian Foreign Ministry released this statement to
Agence France-Presse (AFP). At the same time, the Singapore Foreign Ministry
released a press statement summarising the key points in the ASEAN Foreign
Ministers joint statement. Subsequently the ASEAN Secretariat issued a recall of the
statement and a spokesperson for Malaysias Foreign Ministry said that urgent
amendments were required. It appears that China reacted to the story released by
AFP and this led to the ASEAN Secretariats decision to rescind the earlier release. A
spokesperson for Chinas Foreign Ministry Lu Kang stated, We checked with the
ASEAN side, and the so-called statement reported by AFP is not an official ASEAN
document.
Q2. Can we say that the pro-China countries like Cambodia had prevailed in pressing
for the recal of the statement?
ANSWER: The text of the ASEAN joint statement released to AFP closely mirrors past
statements by ASEAN Foreign Ministers to which Cambodia agreed. The current
issue appears to have been ta Chinas instigation.
Q3. And how can we explain the issuing of a separate statement by Singapore
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, noting the serious concerns expressed by ASEAN foreign
ministers?
ANSWER: The foreign ministries of both Singapore and Indonesia issued normal
short press releases on the activities of their ministers. For several years now ASEAN
foreign ministers have expressed serious concern about recent developments in
the South China Sea.
Q4. Is the absence of Singapore's foreign minister at the press conference a sign that
the meeting didn't go well?

2
ANSWER: Singapore is the ASEAN country co-ordinator for dialogue relations with
China. Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan was co-chair with Chinas Foreign
Minister Wang Yi of the Special ASEAN-China Foreign Ministers Meeting. As co-chair
Minister Balakrishnan should have attended the joint press conference with Minister
Wang. It has been reported that the special meeting ran over schedule and this
delayed the joint press briefing by five hours and Balakrishnan had to cancel his
appearance to make a return flight to Singapore.
Q6. Anyway, the joint statement of ASEAN Foreign Ministers on South China Sea has
been released to the public. Is it stronger than usual against China?
ANSWER: The text of the ASEAN joint statement released by AFP mirrors past joint
statements by ASEAN Foreign Ministers but it does not reflect the wording of past
joint statements issued by ASEAN and China.
China obviously objected to the wording of the joint statement issued by the ASEAN
Secretariat that stated recent and ongoing developments have eroded trust and
confidence, increased tensions and which may have the potential to undermine
peace, security and stability in the South China Sea.
The ASEAN statement also called for non-militarisation and self-restraint, including
land reclamation, and supported legal and diplomatic processes, a reference to the
Philippines case to the Permanent Court of Arbitration.
ASEAN statements on the South China Sea never mention China by name.
Q7. With what happened in Yunnan, do you think that ASEAN can have a united
stand on the ruling from the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague?
ANSWER: ASEAN members are in the process of drafting a joint statement on the
South China Sea in response to the forthcoming findings of the United Nations
Arbitral Tribunal. On June 9th an Indonesian foreign ministry official stated, The
process to reach a common understanding on a possible statement is still ongoing.
All ASEAN members are agreed that disputes should be settled peacefully in accord
with international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the
Sea. ASEAN should certainly be able to issue a joint statement after the Arbitral
Tribunal releases its finding but ASEAN consensus building is likely to dilute any
sharp wording or reference to China.

Suggested citation: Carlyle A. Thayer, ASEAN Secretariat Rescinds China- ASEAN

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