ASEAN: Further Apart, Not Closer Together

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations will soon release its joint communique, as it does every year at the conclusion of its annual summit. This year, the statement will emphasize unity and celebrate the adoption of emergency hotlines and the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea between ASEAN states and China. Notably absent from the release will be any mention of the ruling that invalidates China's territorial claims in the South China Sea, despite Vietnam's and the Philippines' requests for its inclusion....