Thein Sein

Surging maritime tensions dominated a meeting of Southeast Asian leaders yesterday with Vietnam expected to call on its regional neighbours for support in its deepening territorial dispute with China.
The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) is convening just days after both Vietnam and the Philippines locked horns with China in contested waters, stoking international alarm.
The summit, hosted for the first time by Myanmar in its showpiece capital Naypyidaw, is set to be dominated by discussion of the South China Sea, which is crisscrossed by key shipping lanes and thought to contain vast energy reserves.
In prepared remarks for the summit seen by AFP, Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung urged his Asean counterparts to protest what he termed China's "serious violation" in the sea.
Tensions flared after a controversial decision by Beijing to relocate a deep-water oil rig into territory also claimed by Hanoi in early May.  The move sparked a series of incidents in the disputed waters.
On Saturday, Asean foreign ministers expressed "serious concerns over the on-going developments" in a joint statement ahead of the summit, as the bloc sought to present a unified front in dealing with the region's massive neighbour.
Observers have said Beijing's decision to move the rig could have been a tit-for-tat response to a visit to the region by US President Barack Obama, who reaffirmed support for Asian allies.
Beijing claims sovereign rights to almost the whole of the South China Sea. But the South China Sea is also claimed in part by Asean members The Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia as well as Taiwan.