The United States faces a tall order when China appeared to reject pressure to restrain its assertiveness in the South China Sea during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit on Sunday.

The U.S. failed to persuade and get the support of ASEAN member states to antagonize China’s bullying actions in the South China Sea.

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ASEAN’s only response to China’s growing threat was a statement that expressed concern over the “increased tension” in the region and called for increased talks with Beijing. U.S. officials consider ASEAN’s statement a setback to lower the disputes tension.

The statement made no specific mention of China’s provocations in the South China Sea, except for a formal three-point plan the Philippines submitted that ASEAN noted. The Philippines’ three-point plan called for a moratorium on what it described as China’s destabilizing actions.

The South China Sea tension has split ASEAN member states on how they should deal with China as a region. Each Southeast Asian nation is reluctant to engage Beijing through diplomatic protest for fear of jeopardizing trade and investment relations.

To wit, Beijing has so far been successful using its leverage and bilateral relations with individual ASEAN states. It has blocked any form of regional action regarding the maritime disputes.

Case in point, in 2012, an ASEAN meeting broke down when Cambodia, a known Chinese ally, chaired the ASEAN Regional Forum, a meet up of 27 countries that included Australia, China, India and Japan.

"We urged all parties concerned to exercise self-restraint and avoid actions which would complicate the situation and undermine peace, stability, and security in the South China Sea," ASEAN said in a communique following its meeting this weekend in the Myanmar capital Naypyitaw.

ASEAN’s communique called on ASEAN and China to finalize a proposed Code of Conduct to reduce the region’s growing tensions. The Code of Conduct opts to observe “concrete elements” to promote confidence and trust in the already tensed region.

However, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry expressed satisfaction with ASEAN’s communique. For Kerry, the language ASEAN used goes far enough.

"I think we made the points that we came to make. We were not seeking to pass something, we were trying to put something on the table that people could embrace," Kerry told reporters.

TagsASEAN summit, maritime dispute