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.