ASEAN to discuss Spratlys issue

ASEAN to discuss Spratlys issue

MANILA (AFP): A peaceful settlement of the conflicting claims
to the Spratly islands dispute in the South China Sea will be
discussed at the forthcoming ASEAN regional forum in Bangkok,
Philippine Foreign Secretary Roberto Romulo said yesterday.

Romulo also hinted that he would take up Vietnam's
construction of a lighthouse on the edge of Spratlys territory
claimed by the Philippines in a one-on-one meeting with his
Vietnamese counterpart.

The July 25 ASEAN meeting in Bangkok will bring together
members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, as well as
consultative partners such as the United States, the European
Union, Japan, China, Russia and Vietnam.

The meeting will take up security concerns in the region both
among ASEAN members -- Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Singapore and Thailand -- as well as those of the
consultative partners.