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South China Sea Tensions Persist at ASEAN

by VOA News

   The Philippines published photos Wednesday of what appears to be
   Chinese naval ships building an island in the contested South China
   Sea, just before a summit of Asian nations.

   The photos showed an increased number of ships and what the Philippines
   says is evidence of "fresh" construction of an artificial island near
   Scarborough Shoal. They were released just before the annual meeting of
   the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

   "We remain seriously concerned over recent and ongoing developments and
   took note of the concerns expressed by some leaders on the land
   reclamations," read a joint closing statement at the summit.

   Accusations denied
   But China denied the accusations, saying they have simply "maintained a
   number of coast guard vessels for law enforcement patrols" in the area,
   according to the Chinese Embassy in Manila.

   In July, the U.N. arbitration court dismissed China's territorial
   claims in the South China Sea, saying it has "no historic title" to the
   vast maritime region.

   South China Sea Territorial Claims

   The ruling by the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration answers a
   complaint brought by the Philippines in 2013 that accused Beijing of
   violating the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) with its
   aggressive actions on the Scarborough Shoal, a reef located about 225
   kilometers off the Philippine coast.