Key issues on agenda at Asian security summit

Tensions over rival claims to the South China Sea will be one of the most pressing issues when Asia's premier security forum is held on the Indonesian resort island of Bali on Saturday. Here are key facts about the South China Sea dispute, as well as other issues that are expected to be in focus at the ASEAN Regional Forum. South China Sea The South China Sea has long been considered one of Asia's potential military flashpoints. China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have overlapping claims to all or parts of the sea, including hundreds of islets and reefs mostly located in the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos. The sea is believed to be extremely rich in oil and gas deposits, as well as being home to shipping lanes linking East Asia with Europe and the Middle East that are vital to global trade. Vietnam fought a brief 1998 naval battle with China on one of the reefs, leaving 50 Vietnamese sailors dead. Chinese naval vessels have also in the past fired on Vietnamese fishing boats in the area. Tensions have flared again in recent months amid accusations by the Philippines and Vietnam that China has become increasingly aggressive in staking its claim to the sea. The Philippines has accused Chinese forces of acts such as shooting at Filipino fishermen in the area and harassing an oil exploration vessel. Vietnam said that, in one incident, Chinese sailors boarded a Vietnamese fishing boat and beat its captain before stealing the crew's catch. Rare street protests against China have been held in Vietnam over the issue. China and the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations agreed in Bali on Wednesday to a set of guidelines aimed at defusing tensions. While most participants involved said the agreement was important, the guidelines were widely regarded as a only a small step forward and not having altered the foundations of the dispute. Korean peninsula Delegations from North and South Korea are in Bali for the forum, providing a rare opportunity for dialogue amid a fresh low in their rocky relations and as disarmament talks remain frozen. In a bright start to the meeting, South Korean media said that nuclear envoys from the two countries on Friday held their first talks since six-party nuclear negotiations collapsed in December 2008. North and South Korea have been divided since the end of a civil war in 1953. The Korean peninsula is one of the most volatile regions in the world, amid fears North Korea is amassing an arsenal of nuclear weapons. The North, allied to China, is one of the poorest and most isolated countries in the world, although it has one of the biggest standing armies. South Korea, allied to the United States, has meanwhile developed into a modern, prosperous nation. North Korea in 2009 pulled out of the six-nation talks aimed at encouraging it to give up its nuclear ambitions in return for diplomatic and economic rewards. It blamed alleged hostility from the United States for withdrawing from the diplomatic process, which also involved South Korea, China, Japan and Russia. It then tested a nuclear bomb and last year fired on a civilian island in the South and allegedly sank a vessel, incidents that killed 50 people. North Korea and China have both since called for a resumption of the talks. However the United States has refused to return to the talks, saying North Korea must first show its clear commitment to previous denuclearisation agreements and to lower tensions with South Korea. Myanmar Myanmar has remained one of Asia's thorniest issues because of alleged gross human rights violations by the country's military rulers, including the jailing of political opponents such as democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Elections were held last year as part of the military's self-drawn "roadmap" to democracy, but the vote was marred by complaints of cheating. The military's political proxies claimed an overwhelming victory. Suu Kyi was released from seven years of house arrest after the polls but was warned not to engage in political activities. Human rights groups have also urged Myanmar to free 2,000 other political prisoners as part of democratic reforms. Cambodia-Thailand border dispute Cambodia and Thailand are at odds over an area around the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple located along their border. Although Thailand does not dispute Cambodia's ownership of the temple, secured by a 1962 International Court of Justice ruling, both countries claim the 4.6-square-kilometre (1.8-square-mile) area surrounding it. In February the United Nations appealed for a permanent ceasefire after 10 people were killed in fighting between the neighbours at the site. But fresh clashes broke out further west in April, leaving 18 dead and prompting 85,000 civilians to flee. Analysts say that continued border clashes could hurt the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' international credibility and set back the bloc's plans to establish an economic community by 2015. Both countries have agreed to accept a small group of observers from Indonesia, the current ASEAN chair, to the temple site but details still need to be fleshed out before they are deployed.