A summit of Asian leaders has ended in fresh tension over territorial disputes, with Beijing denying it manipulated the agenda of the meeting and the Philippines issuing a stern rebuke to China and host nation Cambodia.
China dismissed accusations on Tuesday that it had used Cambodia, a key ally and recipient of Chinese aid, to drive a wedge between south-east Asian nations over their response to Beijing’s increasingly assertive stance in maritime disputes.
Tensions in the South and East China Seas have escalated in the past two years as Beijing has clashed with Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam over waters that encompass vast oil and gas reserves, large fish stocks and key global trade routes.