Southeast Asian Nations To Start Talks With China On ‘Code Of Conduct’ In South China Sea

Southeast Asian leaders are set to announce the start of negotiations with China on a so-called "Code of Conduct" in the disputed South China Sea. The move is regarded by leaders as a milestone but some experts have dismissed as a non-starter.

Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) also will sign an accord aiming to protect migrant workers from the poverty-wracked region during a two-day summit that opened today (13 November) in Manila, according to a draft of a post-summit communique reports The Associated Press.

ASEAN leaders also will reiterate their "grave concern" over North Korea's development of "weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear and chemical weapons, and ballistic missile technologies," and press their strong condemnation of terrorism in the communique.

A draft a joint statement to be issued later in the day after ASEAN's summit with China and welcomes the adoption by their foreign ministers in August of the framework of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea as "an important milestone."

It announces that both sides have agreed to officially start negotiations on the code.

The statement expresses trust "that we will continue this positive momentum and work towards a substantive and effective COC" and looks forward to the code's early conclusion.

China has been opposed to a legally binding code, and Southeast Asian diplomats said that even ASEAN is not unanimous in seeking a legally binding set of rules. PTI