Vietnam warns South China Sea is a 'test' of Asean

VIENTIANE: Vietnam has warned that the inability of Southeast Asian nations to forge a unified front against Beijing's militarization of the South China Sea is a "test" of the regional bloc in the face of its greatest security challenge.

The unusually strong comments from a key claimant to the contested waters, comes as diplomats meet in Laos for the first summit since a UN-backed tribunal debunked Beijing's legal claim to vast stretches of the strategically vital sea.