Indonesian president warns ASEAN 'can't be proxy' of any country

Tensions between the world’s two largest economies have soared in recent years.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Friday said ASEAN cannot become a proxy for other countries, as U.S.-China tensions rise over issues in the Asia-Pacific region.

Foreign Ministers from the Southeast Asian bloc have gathered in Jakarta for talks about regional issues, from the disputed South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost in its entirety, to the crisis in Myanmar, where China is the ruling junta's main ally.

Disagreements over the waterway have pitted some members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) against Beijing and boosted sympathy for U.S. opposition to China's growing assertiveness. Others have backed Beijing.

"ASEAN cannot be a competition, it can't be a proxy of any country, and international law should be respected consistently," Mr. Widodo told the ministers.

"We in ASEAN are committed to strengthening the unity and solidity as well as centrality in ASEAN to guard the peace and stability in the region."

Tensions between the world's two largest economies have soared in recent years over a host of issues, including China's drills around self-ruled Taiwan and sweeping U.S. export restrictions on advanced semiconductors.

The Jakarta meetings have been joined by both China and the United States, whose top diplomats met Thursday in the Indonesian capital.