JAKARTA, Indonesia: Indonesia’s president is disappointed ASEAN diplomats failed to sign a communique together for the first time in the bloc’s 45-year history.
The foreign ministers of the 10-nation Association of the South East Asian Nations met last week in Cambodia and could not reach common ground on how to handle territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told reporters Monday that as one of the ASEAN leaders, “I am disappointed and concerned.” He ordered Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa to lobby his ASEAN counterparts to reach common ground on the issue.
Four ASEAN members plus China and Taiwan claim all or part of the South China Sea, which is believed to have vast energy deposits.
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