“The week’s episode is reminiscent of the 2012 debacle in Phnom Penh, where Asean foreign ministers failed to issue a annual joint communique due to disagreements over the South China Sea. “The difference with 2012 and 2016 is that Asean now lacks a mediating person to take on the role that former Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa did in 2012,”.
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Ms Moe Thuzar is Fellow at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute.