NEWS - China-Taiwan, Spratlys Key A

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Subject: NEWS - China-Taiwan, Spratlys Key ASEAN Topics

China-Taiwan, Spratlys Key ASEAN Topics

               Reuters
               20-JUL-99

               SINGAPORE, July 20 (Reuters) - Senior South East Asian
               officials met in Singapore on Tuesday ahead of a regional
               foreign ministers' conference to agree on an agenda and
to
               discuss a Philippine proposal for a code of conduct in
the
               South China Sea. 

               Tension between China and Taiwan over the island's
               political status would also be raised at a wider
Association of
               South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) gathering, they said. 

               "The ministers are expected to discuss the Spratlys and
the
               China-Taiwan issue when they meet at the ARF and in
               private," said an ASEAN diplomat, who declined to be
               identified. 

               The ASEAN Regional Forum, or ARF, is a broader gathering
               that includes the European Union, Russia, the United
States
               and China, among others. It will be held after the
ministers'
               conference, which starts on Thursday in Singapore. 

               The ASEAN officials met as the Philippine Navy said it
had
               sunk a Chinese fishing boat in a collision near the
disputed
               Spratly Islands. China promptly accused the Philippines
of
               sinking two of its boats and labelled the incident "very
               serious." 

               Disputes and clashes over the Spratlys' ownership have
               bedevilled regional ties for years. The cluster of
potentially
               oil- and gas-rich isles and reefs in the South China Sea
is
               claimed wholly or in part by the Philippines, China,
Brunei,
               Taiwan, Malaysia and Vietnam. 

               Philippine Foreign Secretary Domingo Siazon was expected
               to submit a code of conduct that would cover the Spratlys
for
               discussion among ASEAN foreign ministers. 

               Officials said the code had been discussed but it was not
               expected to be formally adopted by the foreign ministers. 


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

               and Vietnam. 

               The Philippines and Malaysia argued recently over
               Malaysia's building of structures in the Spratlys. 

               Political analysts said the China-Taiwan spat would give
the
               United States and China a chance to begin talking to each
               other. Relations have been strained since early May when
               NATO warplanes bombed China's embassy in Belgrade. 

               U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is scheduled
to
               meet Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan on the
               sidelines of the regional forum.