US Secretary of State John Kerry met with Cambodian leaders on Tuesday but failed to make them commit to join forces with Southeast Asian nations and stand up to China's territorial pursuits in the South China Sea.

Kerry was in Cambodia after a visit to neighboring Laos, where he met with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong.

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Although the US Secretary described the meeting as 'candid and constructive,'  he, however, did not get the nod of the Cambodian leaders to interfere in the dispute between South China Sea claimant countries and China.

                                                      ASEAN not a party to the dispute

Namhong said Cambodia's stance on the issue of the disputed international waterway remains unchanged, pointing out that the row should be settled among the claimant countries themselves without the need to drag the 10-member ASEAN into the conflict.

Cambodia re-echoed China's position on the South China Sea that ASEAN is not a party to the territorial dispute, so whatever problems the claimant countries have against China must be resolved bilaterally.

"We want it open to negotiations in the future between countries who made claims in the South China Sea," Hor Namhong said.

                                                       2012 ASEAN Chair

In 2012, Cambodia, then the chair of the ASEAN, was accused of blocking a consensus that would have stood up to China's brazen island-grabbing in the South China Sea.

"Cambodia was not a court that could judge that this island belongs to this or that country," Namhong said.

                                                Kerry not an ASEAN representative

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying has said that Kerry is not an ASEAN representative for him to urge the organization to unite against China.

"I hope the United States can play a constructive role for peace and stability in Asia Pacific region and not sow discord," she said.

China is laying claim to almost the entire South China Sea, which is believed to have huge deposits of oil and gas.

                                                       Competing claims

The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan have competing claims in the international waterway.

Beijing has built structures on its artificial islands, including a seaport, airport, and other facilities.

A total of $5 trillion in maritime trade passes the waterway yearly.

TagsCambodia, ASEAN, china, John Kerry