ASEAN to work with China to end territorial disputes

ASEAN to work with China to end territorial disputes

Brian Rhoads, Reuters, Bandar Seri Begawan

Southeast Asian foreign ministers pledged on Tuesday to work closely with giant neighbor China on a code of conduct to help resolve territorial disputes in the potentially oil-rich South China Sea.

"We reaffirm that the adoption of a code of conduct in the South China Sea would further promote peace and stability in the region and agreed to work towards a declaration on the conduct of parties in the South China Sea," ASEAN ministers said in a communique at the close of a two-day meeting.

"In this regard, we agreed to work closely with China with a view to adopting the declaration," the communique said.

After years of wrangling, talks on a code of conduct picked up speed at this week's Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) meetings in Brunei.

Ministers compromised with an agreement which refers broadly to the South China Sea but avoids any mention of the hotly contested Spratly or Paracel islands.

Claimants pledge to practise self-restraint in activity that could spark disputes, like inhabiting the islands, to exchange views between defense and military officials and to notify others of military exercises, said a copy of the code seen by Reuters.

Without acceptance by China, the most powerful claimant over the collection of reefs, banks and tiny islands known as the Spratlys, the code of conduct would have little clout.

It remained unclear whether China would accept the agreement. "We have always supported ASEAN's efforts on a South China Sea code of conduct," Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan told reporters on the sidelines of the meeting. He is to attend an Asia-Pacific security forum in Brunei on Wednesday.

"I'm still not clear on what the latest content is and how they have revised it. So it's hard to comment because I haven't yet seen it," he said.

China, which relies more and more on crude oil and gas imports to fuel breakneck economic growth, long insisted all talks with its smaller rivals be carried out bilaterally, but has recently shown signs of flexibility, Western diplomats say.

In the code, ASEAN members "reaffirm their respect for and commitment to the freedom of navigation and overflight of aircraft above the South China Sea, as provided for by the universally recognized principles of international law".

They also pledge to resolve territorial disputes "through peaceful means, without resorting to the threat or use of force, through consultations and negotiations by sovereign states directly concerned".

Ministers would forward the code of conduct to their governments ahead of a summit late this year, officials said. Tensions over the Spratlys, claimed entirely or in part by the Philippines, China, Brunei, Taiwan, Malaysia and Vietnam, have simmered for years. Rival navies patrol in the region and countries including China and Malaysia have been accused of building structures atop the rocky shoals.

The Philippine Navy sank a Chinese fishing boat that collided with one of its gunships in 1999, scuttling earlier debate by ASEAN foreign ministers on a code of conduct for the area covering nearly 410,000 sq km (158,000 sq miles).