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© Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Southeast Asia nations give watered-down rebuke to China
VIENTIANE, Laos©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.
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theeastisred
Laos and Cambodia a) have no coastline and b) are intimidated by China. Therefore ASEAN unanimity is not achievable in this matter, unfortunately. Beijing must be feeling really happy to have persuaded them through genuine arguments and won the respect of its southern neighbours in this way.
WiseOneIn Kansai
Well, the whole world now knows that ASEAN has no power against China and that even one member of ASEAN can veto any proposal that may have the majority vote. It's now time for Vietnam, Malaysia or Brunei to also file their case with the International Tribunal if they want anything to be done. The ruling will most likely go there way and they would also get more support internationally.
some14some
Perhaps these small countries were counting on USA & it's allies...but Alas....!
OssanAmerica
Ironic that a country that has no "voting" used the "voting system" of ASEAN to prevent the issuance of a statement detrimental to it's illegal expansionism. Same as terrorists using the liberal policies of Western nations to plan and carry out act of violence. What small weak nations like Cambodia don't realize that in the long run, it is only the rule of law that can protect them from larger aggressive adversaries. And the Chinese dictatorship defines an "ally" in extreme black and white terms. There are few if any nations that have sided with China and not found itself on the receiving end of their ire later on.
Garrett Kam
Laos and Cambodia do not have coastlines in the South China Sea, but the Mekong River runs right through them and China can cut off the water supply upstream (as it already has done with dams). So China can bully Laos and Cambodia, and even Myanmar (which also has not South China Sea coast) which has rivers originating in the mountains of southwest China.
crouching$amuraiHiddenNinja
I like how most people here fail to understand how much influence Beijing has over the politics over many of the South East Asian nations.
Plus they're also smart enough to know they would benefit more staying on Beijing's good side than back the US -led Anti-China war stance.
Seriously. Sending more naval patrols in South East Asia is not going to make things more peaceful.
i know a lot of you liberals believe these nations' people need to rise up and stand united against your nemesis China, but they don't care or share our political views. Also don't forget how much China has contributed to these countrys' government and economies in terms of trade and influence.
Plus I think I've seen enough uprisings in the Arab spring to know that the common people are not responsible enough to rule their country after they overthrow their government.
Something our jeffersonian-democratic views have yet to understand.