In veiled message to China, East Asia Summit calls for peaceful settlement of disputes

New Delhi: The East Asia Summit (EAS) in Malaysia has strongly called for settlement of disputes through peaceful means in accordance with international law, in a veiled message to Beijing over its increasingly aggressive military posturing in the South China Sea.

The EAS said this in a declaration at the end of its annual summit in Kuala Lumpur on Monday. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar represented India at the gathering.

Apart from the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) member states, the East Asia Summit includes India, China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Russia.

In the declaration, the EAS underscored the importance of enhancing mutual understanding and trust as well as settlement of disputes by peaceful means in accordance with international law, and with the common interest to promote peace, stability, and prosperity in the region.

There have been growing concerns over China's sweeping claims of sovereignty over all of the South China Sea, a huge source of hydrocarbons.

Several countries in the region including Vietnam, the Philippines and Brunei, have counterclaims.

India and many other democratic countries have been pressing for peaceful settlement of the disputes and for adherence to international law, especially the UNCLOS (UN Convention on the Law of the Sea).

The EAS also reaffirmed its support to an ASEAN-centred regional architecture on broad strategic, political and economic issues of common interest and concern in East Asia.

It expressed strong commitment to multilateralism based on international law, including the Charter of the United Nations, which the grouping described as the "indispensable foundation" of a more peaceful and prosperous world.

"The East Asia Summit, with ASEAN playing a central role, commits to enhance economic cooperation among EAS participating countries, in the areas of mutual interest to ensure regional resilience against economic challenges and narrow the development gaps in the region," the declaration said.

In his address at the summit on Monday, Jaishankar flagged concerns over issues relating to market access, increasingly "constricted" energy trade and selective application of norms.

"There are growing concerns about the reliability of supply chains and access to markets. Technology advancement has become very competitive; the quest for natural resources even more so," he said.

"Energy trade is increasingly constricted, with resulting market distortions. Principles are applied selectively and what is preached is not necessarily practiced," he said.

The external affairs minister also said that the world must adopt a policy of "zero tolerance" towards terrorism as the right of defence against the menace can never be compromised.