The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is hoping to expedite negotiations on a code of conduct with China for the disputed South China Sea but it isn’t realistic to expect an agreement within a year, Singapore’s defense minister said on Wednesday. China and the 10-member ASEAN bloc adopted a negotiating framework on the code in August and have commenced talks on the code itself over the disputed and busy waterway largely controlled by China but also claimed by some ASEAN states. “We hope it will be expedited but it’s a very, very complex issue,” Singapore’s Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen told reporters after a gathering of ASEAN defense chiefs.

ASEAN hopes to expedite code of conduct on South China Sea — Singapore. (2018, February 8). Manila Bulletin, p. 4.