Leaders at the 11th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) issued a final statement on Saturday before concluding the annual regional summit in Mongolia. The regional summit, which brings together key European and Asian countries together, did not directly mention the critical South China Sea issue in the final statement.

Like Us on Facebook

However, the statement did make an indirect reference to the South China Sea row by calling all parties to resolve the maritime dispute by adhering to international law.

According to Japan Times, in the final statement, the leaders stated that they "agreed on the critical importance of confidence building measures, of refraining from the use or threat of force and of disputes being resolved in accordance with principles of international law, the U.N. Charter and the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea."          

Reuters reported that the South China Sea issue dominated the summit, as the two-day annual summit was preceded by the verdict on maritime dispute given by the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration earlier this week.

Several important leaders from Europe and Asia told reporters that China must uphold the verdict handed down by the arbitration court, which invalidated Beijing's claim over almost entire South China Sea.

Germany, France, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Korea are among the prominent countries that have called on China to respect the verdict. The Foreign Minister of the Philippines Albert del Rosario reportedly did not conduct any bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart at the summit. China had expressed a desire for a bilateral meeting with the Philippines during the summit.  

Meanwhile, China allegedly managed to win the support of many countries during the ongoing summit. Laos and Cambodia have lent their complete support to China in the South China Sea dispute, the South China Morning Post reported. Many small European countries like Hungary and Greece are allegedly hesitant to take a bold stance against China, signaling a crack in the European Union's front.

China has stated that it would not accept South China Sea verdict under any circumstance. The Chinese government has labeled the verdict as a ploy by Western forces to weaken its control over the South China Sea.

TagsAsia–Europe Meeting, ASEM, South China Sea, china