ASEAN Receives China’s Assurances on South China Sea
The 31st ASEAN Summit concluded on Tuesday with the generation of several agreements on a number of issues.
Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah (left), Indonesia President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo (second left), Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Razak (second right) and Thailand Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha link hands as they pose for a group photo during the 12th East Asia Summit on the sidelines of the 31st ASEAN Summit in Manila on Tuesday. World leaders are in the Philippines\' capital for two days of summits.
MANILA, KOMPAS — The 31st ASEAN Summit concluded on Tuesday with the generation of several agreements on a number of issues, such the South China Sea dispute, terrorism, the crisis in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, and tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, in his capacity as this year’s ASEAN chairman, said that one of the progresses made at the summit was an agreement on the code of conduct (CoC) in the South China Sea dispute between ASEAN and China.
At a press conference at the end of the summit, Duterte said China had agreed to start the code of conduct (CoC) negotiations and would abide by any agreement made through the negotiations. He added that China also agreed not to curb access to the sea and air territory of the South China Sea.