The East Asia Summit of the foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and other global powers has wrapped up in Laos. Their discussions included the situation in the South China Sea and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to NHK.
Japanese Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov were among those from 18 countries taking part in the meeting held in the capital Vientiane on Saturday.
ASEAN diplomatic sources say multiple countries, including the United States and Australia, voiced opposition against the use of force in the South China Sea, where China is stepping up maritime advances.
Tensions persist in the sea with such incidents as a violent faceoff between Chinese coast guard ships and Philippine vessels.
China reacted sharply, accusing the US of trying to worsen the situation along with others.
Regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, many countries called for an end to the incursion and for the protection of the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
Kamikawa stressed the importance of maintaining and strengthening the rules-based international order. She added that any unilateral attempt to change the status quo by force cannot be tolerated in any place in the world.
