While stressing the need to settle disputes peacefully, leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) — based on the Final Chairman’s statement on the 30th ASEAN Summit released yesterday — opted to go soft on the issue of the South China Sea. The draft statement mentioned “abiding by universally recognized principles of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).” This was removed in the final statement. The leaders, based on the statement, welcomed the progress to complete a framework of the Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea by the middle of this year to facilitate the early conclusion of an effective COC.

Geducos, A. C. (2017, May 1). ASEAN opts to go soft on South China Sea issue. Manila Bulletin, pp. 1, 6.