US, Asean agree on tighter sanctions vs North Korea

WASHINGTON – US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and the foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Thursday affirmed the need for “full implementation” of all UN Security Council sanctions on North Korea.

The affirmation, in a US-ASEAN foreign ministerial meeting in Washington, was effectively a call on China, the long-time economic and diplomatic benefactor of North Korea, and other countries to tighten economic screws on North Korea in accordance with the UN resolutions.

Tillerson and his ASEAN counterparts “discussed the tensions on the Korean Peninsula caused by the DPRK’s nuclear tests and missile launches, and the grave threat posed to regional stability,” according to the State Department.

The meeting came amid signs that North Korea, whose formal name is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, may test-fire another ballistic missile or conduct a sixth nuclear test in violation of Security Council resolutions banning the country from engaging in such activities.

On maritime security, Tillerson and the ASEAN ministers expressed a veiled criticism against China’s land construction and militarization of outposts in disputed areas in the South China Sea.

“The secretary noted shared concerns by many in the region regarding militarization and land reclamation in the South China Sea,” the department said in a readout.

The two sides underscored the importance of principles such as the peaceful resolution of disputes, with full respect for legal and diplomatic processes and in accordance with international law.

They took note of efforts between the 10-member ASEAN and China toward an early conclusion of a “meaningful” code of conduct in the South China Sea as part of efforts to defuse tensions over the sea, in which Beijing has overlapping claims with its smaller neighbors such as the Philippines and Vietnam.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Patrick Murphy said Tillerson urged ASEAN members to consider cutting or downgrading diplomatic relations with Pyongyang to limit financial transactions under diplomatic cover that help fund North Korea’s nuclear program.

He said the US objective was to cut North Korea’s economic ties overseas, including the export of workers, mainly to China and Russia, whose wages are used as a source of foreign income by the cash-strapped government.

Tillerson also underscored the importance to the US of ASEAN and renewed an appeal to all countries with claims to the disputed South China Sea to stop the construction and militarization of bases.

He said the US would continue to ensure freedom of navigation and overflight and unhindered commerce.

The Washington meeting precedes a more formal session in Manila in August to prepare for the US-ASEAN summit that President Donald Trump will attend in November.

Before the meeting on Thursday, acting Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo was scheduled to hold a forum at the Center for Strategic and International Studies to discuss President Duterte’s foreign policy but this was canceled for unexplained reasons.

Manalo said the way to go forward with North Korea was through dialogue and de-escalation of tensions. He said China has an “important role” to play, and ASEAN has not yet discussed reducing the North Korean diplomatic presence in their countries.

“That’s probably something we’ll look at,” Manalo told reporters. “Our immediate concern is that the tension in the peninsula does not increase, because the more it increases the more danger of some kind of miscalculation.”

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Eight foreign ministers and two other senior officials from the 10 nations traveled across the world for the face-to-face with Tillerson. –  AP, Jose Katigbak/STAR Washington bureau