Asean urges accord on South China Sea code, end to Myanmar violence

Southeast Asian leaders called on Sunday for a swift agreement on a code of conduct for the South China Sea based on international law, while demanding an immediate halt to fighting in Myanmar and inclusive peace talks to end its civil war.

The Asean chairman’s statement represents the consensus from meetings that ended on Friday of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Laos, which included diplomats from the United States, Russia, China, Japan, India, and South Korea.

Confrontations have been rising in disputed waters of the South China Sea between China, which claims sovereignty over almost all the vital waterway, and Asean members including the Philippines and more recently Vietnam.

The rows have raised risks of an escalation that could eventually involve the United States, which is bound by a treaty to defend the Philippines if it is attacked.

The sea, where US$3 trillion worth of trade passes annually, was been a major point of contention at the Asean meetings, particularly with Russia and China objecting to a reference to the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, a US official said.

The Asean statement called for confidence-building measures that could “reduce tensions and the risk of accidents, misunderstandings and miscalculation” in the South China Sea.