Publication

This paper reviews the 49th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Vientiane, which was studiously silent about the 12 July 2016 South China Sea ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA). As the text’s author sees it, the collective silence was not a demonstration of ineffectiveness. Instead, it was in line with ASEAN’s diplomatic style and the “healthy” imperfections of international law.