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VIENTIANE, Laos — President Barack Obama put the long-simmering dispute in the South China Sea front and center on the agenda at a regional summit Thursday as it became clear that most of the other leaders gathered in the Laotian capital were going to let China off with a mild rebuke over its territorial expansion in the resource-rich waters. “We will continue to work to ensure that disputes are resolved peacefully including in the South China Sea,” Obama said in his opening remarks at a meeting with leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN. He said an international arbitration ruling on July 12 against China was “binding” and “helped to clarify maritime rights in the region.” ASEAN will hold a separate summit later Thursday with other world powers, including China and the US The summit is expected to let China off with a muted reprimand over its expansionist activities in South China Sea, according to a draft of their joint statement to be released Thursday. The mild language in the statement, despite growing frustrations in the region over China’s claims, is a reflection of Beijing’s diplomatic, economic and military clout within ASEAN, which forms the core of the East Asia Summit that also includes the US, China, Russia, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. The US has repeatedly expressed concern over Beijing’s actions in the resource-rich sea. Obama brought that up again. Referring to the arbitration panel’s ruling that invalidated China’s claims, Obama said: Read More …

U.S. President Barack Obama. AP File Photo VIENTIANE, Laos—US President Barack Obama on Thursday reiterated that countries in the Asia-Pacific region should promote respect for human rights, when he spoke before leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), some of whom are facing accusations of human rights violations. In his opening speech at the Asean-US summit, Obama also maintained that maritime disputes over the South China Sea should be “resolved peacefully.” “We have laid out a common vision for the region articulated in the Sunnylands Declaration: An open, dynamic and economically competitive Asia Pacific that respects human rights and upholds the law-based order,” Obama said. “Today we can discuss further how we can advance that vision,” he said. The much-anticipated meeting between the American leader and President Rodrigo Duterte did not happen as the latter skipped the mid-morning event for still unknown reason. The President was also absent at the Asean-India conference held on the sidelines of the 28th and 29th Asean summits, which will conclude Thursday. Washington  earlier scrapped the bilateral meeting between Obama and Duterte after the Philippine President hurled profanities at the US leader for his supposed plan to raise the issue of spiralling drug killings in the Philippines. READ: Obama scraps meeting with Duterte — White House The two briefly spoke before the gala dinner for Asean leaders on Wednesday night. READ: Duterte, Obama briefly talk before ASEAN dinner Without elaborating, Foreign Affairs spokesperson Charles Jose claimed the President was able to “iron out” Read More …

VIENTIANE – President Rodrigo Duterte failed to attend the meeting of regional leaders with the United States and India on the last day of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit here on Thursday. As of press time, Malacañang has yet to issue an explanation regarding the President’s absence in the two meetings. Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. represented Duterte in both summits. CDG/rga RELATED STORIES Duterte, Obama briefly talk before ASEAN dinner Duterte treated like ‘a rockstar’ at Asean Summit, says Andanar Latest Alert level 1 raised over Mayon, but no imminent eruption expected Angel Locsin to reprise Darna role Duterte skips meeting with US, India leaders WWE CWC: Fil-Am Perkins makes it to the Final Four Recommended Disclaimer: Comments do not represent the views of INQUIRER.net. We reserve the right to exclude comments which are inconsistent with our editorial standards. FULL DISCLAIMER View Comments For feedback, complaints, or inquiries, contact us.