The 45^th ASEAN Foreign Ministerial Conference held in Phnum Penh on July 9, 2012, failed to make a joint statement for the first time in 45 years due to difference of opinions of member countries related to territorial disputes around the South China Sea. According to an announcement by the Foreign Ministry of the Philippines, there was a request to include the matters discussed at the ASEAN Foreign Ministerial Conference regarding the confrontation between state owned ships of China and the Philippines which had occurred in Huangyandao(Scarborough Island) last April, but the host country Cambodia objected, and thus failed to make a joint statement. The Philippines and Vietnam criticized Cambodia that the reason that Cambodia opposed to including the territorial dispute matter of the South China Sea in the joint statement was because it considered the stance of China. To this criticism, Cambodia responded that it is their policy not to take sides regarding the territorial dispute matter, and that all the member countries were responsible for failing to announce a joint statement.