This article is more than 10 months old

This article is more than 10 months old

The US has condemned Chinese “intimidation” in the South China Sea, alleging it has bullied smaller south-east Asian nations by militarising the resource-rich waters and seeking to control the global trade route.

Speaking at an Asean-US summit in Bangkok, the US national security adviser, Robert O’Brien, said China’s sweeping exclusive claims in the South China Sea – already rejected by the court of arbitration – were illegitimate and a form of realist imperialism.

“Beijing has used intimidation to try to stop Asean nations from exploiting the offshore resources, blocking access to $2.5tn of oil and gas reserves alone,” O’Brien said in a speech.

“The region has no interest in a new imperial era where a big country can rule others on a theory that might makes right.”

World's largest trade deal RCEP faces delay as India pushes back against China Read more

China claims a vast swathe – more than 3.5m sq km – of the South China Sea, within the so-called nine-dash line that, it says, represents its historical maritime domain over thousands of years. It has also built military infrastructure on a number of contested islands within the sea, deployed warships, and rammed fishing vessels.

But the areas asserted by Beijing to belong to China are also variously claimed by Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines.

In 2016, the Philippines took its dispute to the permanent court of arbitration in The Hague, which sided with the Philippines, saying there was no legal or historical basis for China’s claim.

However, China has this week said it is “ready to work” with Asean nations on a code of conduct for the South China Sea.

The 10-member Asean has been mired in talks for years over a code for the waters, but the agreement, scheduled to be finalised in 2021, will lay out conduct guidelines for the sea along with mechanisms for resolving conflicts and contested claims.

On Sunday, China’s premier, Li Keqiang, described the first reading of the document – a chance for all members to comment on the draft terms – as “a very important landmark”.

“We stand ready to work with Asean countries building on the existing foundation and the basis to strive for new progress” on the guidelines, he said.

He said China wanted to “maintain and uphold long-term peace and stability in the South China Sea”.

At a time when China is seen as trying to align itself more closely with south-east Asian nations, the US is making its own overtures.

O’Brien read a message from Trump inviting Asean leaders to “join me in the United States for a special summit, meeting at a time of mutual convenience in the first quarter of 2020”.

But pointedly, it was O’Brien who was representing the US in Bangkok, as Asean leaders met, and then the expanded grouping of the East Asia Summit. The Trump administration has consistently downgraded the Asean multilaterals, sending the vice-president, Mike Pence, last year and O’Brien this year.

The centrepiece of the Asean and East Asia Summits in Bangkok was to have been the final negotiations on the 16-member Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership – known as the RCEP – which would be, when operational, the largest free trade agreement in the world, spanning India to New Zealand, including 30% of global GDP and half of the world’s people.

But resistance from an Indian government protectionist by instinct – in particular concerned about a flood of cheap mass-produced Chinese goods hurting small businesses in its economy, and the impact of free agricultural trade on the country’s tens of millions of small-scale farmers – appears to have cruelled hopes of finalising the pact this year.

Instead, the deal is likely to be completed in February next year, and may end up proceeding without India.

China is keen for the RCEP to be brought into force, seeing it as a counterweight to its debilitating tariff war with the US.

Australia is a not a member of Asean, but is a participant in the expanded East Asia Summit grouping. The prime minister, Scott Morrison, said Australia was an unalloyed supporter of the proposed new free trade deal.

Australian navy pilots hit with lasers during South China Sea military exercise Read more

“The integration of the economy of the Indo Pacific is incredibly important for the prosperity of the region, but also its security … This is… showing a clear way forward that we see businesses in this region all dealing with each other in a much more free and open commercial environment.”

Morrison met with the Chinese premier on the sidelines of the conference, and, while acknowledging significant strains in Australia’s relationship with Beijing, said he was anxious that disagreements “don’t overtake or overwhelm the rest of the relationship”.

“There is an honest acknowledgement … that we are two very different countries. We are a liberal democracy. They are a Communist party state. We are not seeking to adopt their system and they are not seeking to adopt ours and so there is an honesty about understanding the differences between those two outlooks.

“There was, I think, a maturity in the discussion yesterday that understood the nature of our two countries and where the benefits are by working close together on the things we agree on, understanding the areas where we have a difference of view.”

with agencies

• This article was amended on 5 November 2019 because an earlier version incorrectly included Japan among countries who assert claims over areas in the South China Sea.