Asean to start talks with China

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will soon start negotiations with China on the code of conduct designed to ease tensions in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said.  The ten ASEAN nations have agreed on the code of conduct during a meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers in Cambodia, but would still seek to get China to agree to it.

But China and ASEAN countries struggled to make progress on the code of conduct, diplomatic sources said .  A joint statement to be issued by ASEAN foreign ministers was also held up as countries wrangled over whether to include a reference to recent spats pitting China against Vietnam and the Philippines.  “ASEAN foreign ministers are having an emergency meeting to resolve the wording on the South China Sea in the joint statement,” one Asian diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Del Rosario called for the effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea to ensure a credible, binding and enforceable code of conduct.  Del Rosario said these goals are part of the region’s collective goal of enhancing maritime cooperation.-(Philstar)