Southeast Asian nations were thrown into disarray after Cambodia on Saturday blocked them from issuing a statement referring to an international court ruling against China's territorial claims in the South China Sea, diplomats said. The U.N.-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague handed an emphatic legal victory to the Philippines in the maritime dispute earlier this month, denying China's sweeping claims in the strategic seaway. Foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will meet for the first time since the ruling on Sunday, before hosting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, and his Chinese counterpart, Foreign Minister Wang Yi among others. The disputed sea, through which more than $5 trillion in global trade passes each year, is the most contentious issue for the 10 ASEAN members. China claims most of the sea, but ASEAN members the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei all have rival claims. Yi has described the Hague case as a farce, … [Read more...] about ASEAN in discord ahead of meeting with top China, U.S. diplomats
Discord push to talk
UN chief calls for new climate pact push
UN chief Ban Ki-moon appealed for world powers to make a new effort to secure a legally binding climate deal next year amid new diplomatic wrangling over the failure of the Copenhagen summit. China hit back at Britain over claims that Beijing had "hijacked" the Copenhagen negotiations while Brazil and Cuba lashed out at the US President Barack Obama. With scientists warning of the growing threat of drought, floods, storms and rising sea levels, Ban acknowledged international disappointment over the summit accord on restraining rising temperatures. "I am aware that the outcome of the Copenhagen conference, including the Copenhagen Accord, did not go as far as many would have hoped," Ban told reporters in New York. "Nonetheless they represent a beginning, an essential beginning," the secretary general added. Ban said "the leaders were united in purpose, but they were not united in action," and pressed them "to directly engage in achieving a global legally binding climate change … [Read more...] about UN chief calls for new climate pact push
G-20 looks to tackle toxic assets, defuse tension
Group of 20 finance ministers zeroed in on cleansing banks of toxic assets as they sought to set aside a transatlantic dispute on how best to fight the global recession. Muffins with the flags of G20 countries displayed in the media center before the G20 Finance Ministers meeting Saturday at a hotel near Horsham in southern England … [Read more...] about G-20 looks to tackle toxic assets, defuse tension
US, China seek to play down rivalry
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi pledged Thursday to work more closely together after talks designed to smooth their countries' often spiky relations. After a meeting in Cambodia, Clinton highlighted areas of common interest such as disaster relief and disease control, which she said were "an important signal that the US and China not only can, but will work together in Asia".' Yang said: "China and US relations have continued to make progress this year," adding both sides had agreed to "enhance our dialogue... to continue to expand our common ground". There have been concerns that the US's new foreign policy "pivot" to focus on Asia, where it hopes to counter China's enormous clout, could antagonize Beijing ahead of a leadership transition later this year. The display of togetherness on the sidelines of a regional Asian security meeting came despite constant friction in the world's most significant bilateral relationship, caused by … [Read more...] about US, China seek to play down rivalry
‘Low’ expectations from new round of climate talks
PARIS - Officials from some 170 countries gather in Bonn from Monday to lay the groundwork for a new global warming pact, as Europe pushes for progress amid fears of political and financial wavering. Teams of experts and diplomats will seek to outline a work plan for clinching a new deal by 2015 on limiting Earth-warming gas emissions, but observers fear squabbling and political inertia may hamstring negotiators. "A lot of other issues are competing for space and time," climate change observer Alden Meyer said ahead of the May 14 to 25 talks. "It all comes down to politics and national interests." The gathering is the first since UN member states agreed in Durban, South Africa, last December to bring all major greenhouse-gas emitting countries under a single legal roof from 2020. Since then, anger has been brewing over Europe's imposition of a carbon emissions tax on international airlines from January 1 - which countries like India and the United States have warned could … [Read more...] about ‘Low’ expectations from new round of climate talks