DAVOS, Switzerland: The strength of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) is at its greatest when members work together, Southeast Asian countries said on Friday at a panel discussing the future of the regional bloc amid ongoing territorial spats with China.

“We are strong if we negotiate as a group,” said Vietnam’s foreign minister, Pham Binh Minh, insisting that the future of Asean was through deeper integration despite the preference of non-Asean heavyweight China for country-to-country ties.

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