Laos poised to thwart ASEAN's South China Sea code of Conduct, Western source says
Philippine chairmanship's push for unified ASEAN stance faces potential obstruction from Vientiane
The Philippines' push to finalize a long-stalled Code of Conduct for the South China Sea during its ASEAN chairmanship faces a fresh obstacle, with a Western source saying Laos is being leaned on by China to scuttle the agreement. The revelation comes weeks before the 49th ASEAN Summit in Manila.