The foreign ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) issued the joint communique shortly after the ministers met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and agreed on a framework for conducting negotiations on the decades-long row that included key clauses advocated by China.
“This is an important outcome of our joint effort,” Wang told reporters as he celebrated the agreement.
China claims nearly all of the strategically vital sea, through which $5 trillion in annual shipping trade passes and is believed to sit atop vast oil and gas deposits.
Its claims overlap with those of ASEAN members Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei, as well as Taiwan.
China has expanded its presence in the contested areas in recent years by building giant artificial islands.
In the joint statement, ASEAN members did not say that the hoped-for code of conduct with China would be “legally binding,” contrary to what Vietnam had insisted in during the two days of negotiations.
Cambodia had lobbied hard for China.
“Vietnam is adamant, and China is effectively using Cambodia to champion its interests,” one diplomat told AFP on Sunday as negotiations extended into overtime.
Consensus struggle
Tensions over the sea have long vexed ASEAN, which operates on a consensus basis but has had to balance the interests of rival claimants and those more aligned to China.
The Philippines, under previous president Benigno Aquino III, had been one of the most vocal critics of China and filed a case before a United Nations-backed tribunal.
The tribunal last year ruled China’s claims to the sea had no legal basis, but the Philippines, under new President Rodrigo Duterte, decided to play down the verdict in favor of pursuing warmer ties with Beijing. Agence France Presse
