Challenge and opportunity for Asean

AT the end of July, it was reported by China’s CCTV that President Xi Jinping had said at a meeting of the country’s Politburo that Beijing wished to put aside the territorial sea disputes with a number of neighbours, and to seek joint maritime development in disputed waters.

Of course, he also said China would not compromise or budge on its sovereign claims, which is not surprising. Even in China, politics is the art of the possible.