Southeast Asian diplomats meet with China as friction mounts over Beijing’s sweeping maritime claims

VIENTIANE, Laos (AP) — Top diplomats from Southeast Asia met Friday morning in Vientiane with China’s Foreign Minister for talks that come as friction continues to escalate over Beijing’s growing effort to press its sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea.

Several members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nation have disputes with China, which has led to direct confrontations that many worry could lead to broader conflict.

“One wrong step in the South China Sea will turn a small fire into a terrible firestorm,” said Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi ahead of the talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

ASEAN members Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei all have conflicts with China over its claims of sovereignty over virtually all of the South China Sea, one of the world’s most crucial waterways for shipping. Indonesia has also expressed concern about what it sees as Beijing’s encroachment on its exclusive economic zone.

The United States and its allies, meanwhile, have been regularly conducting military exercises and patrols in the area to assert their “free and open Indo-Pacific” policy, including the right to navigate international waters — drawing criticism from China.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was to arrive Saturday to attend the ASEAN meetings and was expected to meet with Wang on the sidelines for bilateral talks.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is also attending the meetings, and already held direct talks with Wang.

China is a key ally of Russia’s in its war against Ukraine, and Wang emphasized the “deepening strategic coordination” between the two nations, China’s Xinhua news agency reported.

This year, tensions between the Philippines — an American treaty ally