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Foreign ministers at the ASEAN Regional Forum in Vientiane

A chairman’s statement was adopted on July 27 for a meeting of foreign ministers at the 23rd ASEAN Regional Forum. Its adoption one day after the meeting’s close came despite some predictions of difficulties reaching an agreement on the content. As with last year’s statement, the text included wording about the North Korean nuclear program, but none regarding the current controversy over plans to deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system with US Forces Korea.

References to the North Korean nuclear issue and other Korean Peninsula-related matters accounted for four sentences of the 24th clause in the statement.

“The Ministers expressed concerns over the recent developments on the Korean Peninsula, including the nuclear test [on Jan. 6] and launches using ballistic missile technology [on Feb. 7 and July 9] by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), which are in violation of the relevant United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions,” the statement read.

“The Ministers also highlighted . . . the need to fully comply with all relevant UNSC resolutions, including UNSC resolution 2270,” it continued.

“The Meeting underlined the importance of creating necessary conditions for the early resumption of the Six-Party Talks, which would help pave the way toward peaceful denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula,” it added.

On the statement’s wording on the North Korean nuclear issue, a senior South Korean government official said, “We feel it is very good wording that reflects all the items we sought to include.”

Meanwhile, the absence of any reference to a July 12 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) invalidating China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea - one of the major issues at the meeting - suggests Beijing managed to more or less successfully fend off a series of attacks by the US and Japan. Indeed, this year’s statement did not include the same wording on the issue as last year’s, which made reference to resolving difference “in accordance with international law.” The change appears to reflect the wishes of Beijing, which has called for voiding of the PCA ruling. This would mean a victory for China in the current diplomatic battle over its South China Sea dispute.

By Lee Je-hun, staff reporter in Vientiane

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]