Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and China are set to convene negotiations for the crafting of a Code of Conduct (CoC) on the South China Sea in August, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said. “We only have the framework as of now, but this August, there will be a meeting of the ministers. “We intend to push it to get as far as we can, as fast as we can,” Cayetano added. China, Taiwan and some Asean member states including the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam and Vietnam, have overlapping territorial claims in the South China Sea. Cayetano said he is confident that Singapore, as the current Asean chairman, will steer a fruitful CoC negotiation.

Source: Manila Times June 02, 2018 16:33 UTC