Southeast Asian leaders are to call for self restraint to avoid escalation of tensions in the South China Sea, according to a draft obtained Monday of a document expected to be released at the end of a regional summit meeting later this month. Leaders from the 10-member countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are expected to gather in Kuala Lumpur for their second summit on Nov. 21, after the first in April. The territorial disputes over some rocky outcrops that make up the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea will once again top the agenda as in the April summit.

Self-restraint over disputed sea urged. (2015, November 11). Manila Bulletin, pp. 1, 6.