Russia and China accused of blocking Asean statement due to dispute over South China Sea

Russian foreign minister says final declaration not adopted because of attempts by US, Japan, South Korea, Australia and NZ to turn it into a purely political statement'

Russia and China blocked a proposed consensus statement for the East Asia Summit drafted by south-east Asian countries, mainly over objections to language on the contested South China Sea, a US official said on Saturday.

A draft statement arrived at by consensus by the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations was put to the 18-nation East Asia Summit meeting in Laos on Thursday evening, the official said.