(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) Malaysian PM says Southeast Asian body must address South China Sea disputes in proactive, constructive way.
ASEAN host Malaysia has expressed the Southeast Asian body's stance on disputes over the South China Sea, saying Mondy that regional tensions could be eased by effective progress toward an early conclusion of a code of conduct.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said during the 26th ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur that recent tensions had raised concerns, attracting global attention due to the importance of the sea lanes in international trade.
"ASEAN must address these developments in a proactive, but also in a positive and constructive way," he stressed.
China claims almost the whole of the South China Sea, which the Philippines calls the West Philippine Sea. Several other Asian nations including ASEAN members such as the Philippines and Malaysia have also laid claim.
They say China is reclaiming land in such areas to create artificial islands on which they could build facilities for military use.
Najib said Monday that in addition to continuing cooperation with countries outside the region, ASEAN must peacefully manage differences closer to home, including overlapping maritime claims.
He added that respect for international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982, must be the basis of the rules of engagement and activities in the waters of the South China Sea.
In 2002, ASEAN and China signed the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea to address conflicting territorial claims.
The parties involved had agreed to undertake consensual efforts toward adopting a code of conduct in the waters for the sake of regional peace and stability.
There has, however, been no consensus on the code of conduct.
The leaders of the 10-member regional pact are in Malaysia's capital to attend the two-day summit that ends Tuesday.
Malaysia assumed the ASEAN chairmanship from Myanmar in January.
The ASEAN member states are: Malaysia, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
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