China, which has militarized areas it occupied in recent years, claims virtually the entire South China Sea. China occupies islands, islets and reclaimed land in at least seven areas of the South China Sea, and has built military-length airstrips and installed missile launchers and other military equipment in some locations, despite objections by other claimants. In the statement, Asean ministers will welcome the agreement between Asean and China in May on a framework for a code of conduct in the region, the sources said, referring to the Code of Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, or COC. The envisioned statement has been toned down from the chairman's statement issued after the Asean summit in Laos last September. The ministers will also endorse the full implementation of the Declaration on the Code of Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, a nonbinding agreement created in 2002 by China and ASEAN member states.

Source: Bangkok Post July 31, 2017 08:48 UTC