Australia's Wong says region faces choice about its response to South China Sea 'aggression'

AI Summary

Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong highlighted concerns over aggressive behavior in the South China Sea that destabilizes the region. She emphasized that Asian countries must choose their stance on such actions during ASEAN meetings in Manila.

MANILA, July 22 (Reuters) - Australia's foreign minister said on Wednesday that Asian countries face a choice in how they respond to instances of aggressive conduct in the South China Sea that were of concern to Canberra. A recent encounterin the South China Sea between China and the Philippines was a real concern, in addition to being destabilising and risky, Penny Wong said on the sidelines of a meeting led by the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN.