VIENTIANE — As Asean foreign ministers gather in the Lao capital to discuss the challenges ahead, the never-ending dispute over the South China Sea is troubling them more than ever.
The meeting of the 10 ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on Saturday is one of many planned this year in Laos, which holds the bloc's rotating chairmanship.
They will be discussing measures to strengthen links within the new Asean Economic Community and how to create a safer region through a concerted fight against transnational crimes, an Asean source said on Friday.
That fits with the theme of "Turning Vision into Reality for a Dynamic Asean Community" promoted by the host government.
But with tensions escalating in the South China Sea, the source said the dispute would inevitably become a topic for debate by Asean members that are claimants to some of the islets there.
While a legally binding code of conduct on the disputed sea is still being drafted, some Asean members want the grouping to find ways to deal more sternly with China, the Asean source said.
Beijing's latest provocation has been the deployment of surface-to-air missiles on Woody Island, part of the Paracels chain where Vietnam and the Philippines also have territorial claims.
Brunei and Malaysia are two other members of the group claiming sovereignty over some maritime territory.
Thailand is not a party to any of the disputes and has attempted in the past to bring other parties together. A few years ago it helped to nudge Asean and China into agreement on the need for a code of conduct but even that initiative has stalled.
A Thai Foreign Ministry official said the country was going to Vientiane with some more modest goals in mind. It hopes to see plans to boost border trade and to set up an Asean cyber centre to fend off regional threats by ensuring better connections among members.
However, the Philippines has made clear what its priority will be at the meeting.
Charles Jose, a spokesman for the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs, told a news conference in Manila on Tuesday that his country would focus on maritime security, saying that China's construction of artificial islands in disputed waters had heightened tensions.
"We are expressing concern over these developments, including the reported missiles on Woody Island," Kyodo News quoted him as saying.
"Of course all these things raise our concern and its effect on freedom of navigation, overflight and unimpeded flow of commerce. In this meeting we will continue to express our concern with the developments in the South China Sea."