China, ASEAN agree on Spratlys

China, ASEAN agree on Spratlys

Dan Eaton, Reuters, Phnom Penh

China signed a landmark agreement with Southeast Asian countries
on Monday on avoiding open conflict in the disputed South China
Sea.

A dispute over ownership of the Spratly islands, claimed
entirely or in part by China and several Association of South
East Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, has long been seen as a
potential flashpoint in the region and once even brought China
and Vietnam to the verge of war.

ASEAN and China signed the deal to govern the conduct of
parties in the South China Sea at a meeting in Phnom Penh.

"This important advancement of China-ASEAN relations marks a
higher level of political trust between the two sides and will
contribute to regional peace and stability," Chinese Prime
Minister Zhu Rongji said in a speech before the signing.

The agreement said claimants would practice self restraint in
activity that could spark disputes, such as inhabiting the
islands that are believed to be rich in oil deposits.

They also agreed to exchange views between defense officials
and give advance warning of military exercises.

The Spratlys are a cluster of dozens of submerged banks, reefs
and islets in the South China Sea claimed wholly by China,
Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam.

Except for China and Taiwan, which both have permanent
installations on the remote reefs, the other claimants are all
ASEAN members.

The islands are believed to sit atop vast deposits of oil and
natural gas but clashes between Vietnam and China in the 1990s
and the presence of numerous naval vessels patrolling the seas
have made verification difficult.

After years of wrangling, talks on a code of conduct for the
Spratlys gathered pace at an ASEAN meeting in Brunei earlier this
year, but a dispute over wording between Malaysia and Vietnam
scuppered a deal.

The deal was revived in time to be signed during a two-day
summit in Cambodia, which began on Monday and was dominated by
security and the war on terror The summit was attended by leaders
of 10 Southeast Asian countries, as well as China, Japan, South
Korea and India.