The European Union made its strongest call yet for China and other Asian nations to resolve their dispute over the South China Sea, a position Brussels insists is neutral but that the United States is likely to welcome after pressing the bloc to speak up.
At a summit of EU and Asian foreign ministers, Beijing escaped any public admonishment over its construction and militarization of islands in the South China Sea but the EU's foreign policy chief took a firm line in the bloc's first public comments since Washington patrolled the area this month.
A week after Washington sent a U.S. naval destroyer to underscore its freedom of navigation and challenge China's claim to almost all the South China Sea, the European Union also faced the task of ensuring that the gathering of 50 Asian and European envoys was not completely overshadowed by the dispute.