Diplomatic win for China as ASEAN drops reference to maritime court ruling

By Michael Martina and Lesley Wroughton VIENTIANE (Reuters) - China scored a diplomatic victory on Monday as Southeast Asian nations dropped a U.S.-backed proposal to mention a landmark international court ruling against Beijing's territorial claims in the South China Sea in a joint statement. A weekend deadlock between Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers was broken only when the Philippines withdrew its request to mention the ruling in the face of resolute objection