China ready to sign code of conduct on Spratlys: Philippine

China ready to sign code of conduct on Spratlys: Philippine
officials

Agence France-Presse
Manila

China has expressed willingness to sign a "code of conduct" for
the peaceful resolution of rival claims to islands in the South
China Sea, Philippine officials said on Friday after meeting with
China's number-two leader Li Peng.

"We are moving forward. We are leaving the schedule and the
timing (of the signing) to the ASEAN foreign ministers and the
Chinese foreign minister," House of Representatives Speaker Jose
de Venecia told reporters after meeting Li.

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members Brunei,
Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, have struggled to put in force a
code of conduct in the South China Sea.

ASEAN also wants other claimants to disputed areas in the
South China Sea, China and Taiwan, to accede to the proposed
code.

De Venecia said Li told him the countries should "work out
amicable relations in the South China Sea and we should try to
advance the process" for signing the code.

All claimants to the Spratly chain except Brunei have troops
on the islands, making it a potential military flashpoint,
defense analysts have said.

In a joint statement issued after the meeting between Li and
de Venecia, both sides said they "pledged their continued
endeavor to seek an early acceptance of the proposed code of
conduct in the South China Sea by China and ASEAN countries."

The code of conduct, first proposed by the Philippines, sets
rules of behavior to reduce tensions in the area, followed the
construction by China in the mid 1990s of permanent structures on
Philippines-claimed Mischief Reef and confrontations between the
Philippine navy and Chinese fishermen.

However efforts to finalize the code have been delayed by
disputes over the wording of the code and the area it would
cover.

Meanwhile, the Philippines said on Friday it is preparing to
free 122 Chinese fishermen but has arrested 38 more despite Li's
visit.