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Ministers to express concern over Beijing’s activities at forum

Foreign ministers from more than 20 countries are planning to express their concern over Beijing’s extensive island-building activities in the South China Sea when they gather for Asia’s largest security meeting later this week in Malaysia, said a draft statement yesterday.

Foreign ministers from more than 20 countries are planning to express their concern over Beijing’s extensive island-building activities in the South China Sea when they gather for Asia’s largest security meeting later this week in Malaysia, said a draft statement yesterday.

Without directly mentioning China by name, in the most recent draft of the chairman’s statement of the ASEAN Regional Forum, they “expressed concerns on the land-reclamation and construction projects on several maritime features in the South China Sea”.

They also “called on all parties concerned to work constructively and to refrain from taking unilateral action that would destabilise peace and stability in the area”, said the draft obtained by Kyodo News.

Compared with its earlier draft, the tone is slightly stronger and the wording on recent land-reclamation activities in the troubled waters is more specific.

China is part of the annual 27-member forum to be held tomorrow in Kuala Lumpur. It is most likely to object to the issuing of the statement after the gathering of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, 16 other countries and the European Union. Kyodo News

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