Fifteen years after their first joint declaration on the South China Sea disputes, the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and China have agreed to adopt a framework to guide future negotiations for a Code of Conduct in the contested sea. The Asean foreign ministers and China would formally endorse the document called “Framework of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea,” during their meeting in Manila on Aug. 6, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Monday. The ministers’ meeting is part of the week-long Asean related meetings the Philippines will chair from Aug. 2 to 8, when the regional bloc will mark its 50th anniversary.

Pazzibugan, D. Z. (2017, August 1). Asean, China agree on code of conduct at sea framework. Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A5.