BANGKOK: Despite potential optimism from the ASEAN meeting in Cambodia over a number of regional issues, the Philippines government on Monday said it would continue to demand its rights over a territorial dispute with China. The Philippines government vowed on Monday to maintain its outspoken nature on the global stage over a tense territorial dispute with China. It comes as ASEAN leaders were in Cambodia to discuss ways to reduce tensions among Asian countries, including the ongoing territorial disputes in Southeast Asia with China. But efforts appear to have been unsuccessful, with one official telling Bikyamasr.com that “the ongoing debacle has shown that countries are trying assert their rights against China, who is not willing to come even halfway to compromise.” Cambodia, the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, said that all 10 members of the bloc had agreed at a leaders' summit Sunday not to “internationalise” their disputes over rival claims to the South China Sea. The apparent deal would have been a victory for China, which has long insisted that countries such as the Philippines should not seek support from the United States. But Philippine President Benigno Aquino insisted he and one other country, which diplomats said was Vietnam, had not agreed and that Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen should not have promoted the alleged ASEAN “consensus”. “While the Philippines was for ASEAN unity, it has the inherent right to defend its national interests when deemed necessary,” Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario told reporters, quoting Aquino's comments to his fellow leaders on Monday. Del Rosario said the Philippine delegation had sent a letter to all other ASEAN leaders to emphasise that there was no consensus. ASEAN members Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei, as well as Taiwan, have claims to parts of the sea, which is home to some of the world's most important shipping lanes and believed to be rich in fossil fuels. But China claims it has sovereign rights to virtually all of the sea.
