Southeast Asian states want a UN maritime convention to be the basis for settling competing claims in the South China Sea, a draft document showed Tuesday. Southeast Asian foreign ministers are meeting in Cambodia to draw up a long-delayed code of conduct to be signed by them and China aimed at easing friction in the disputed regional hotspot. The draft document outlining ASEAN’s position, which was seen by AFP, called on all sides to “undertake to resolve territorial… disputes in the (South China Sea) by peaceful means in accordance with international law, including UNCLOS”. UNCLOS is the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, an international treaty that sets limits on how much of a neighbouring sea a nation can consider as their territorial waters or exclusive economic zone. China is a signatory to UNCLOS, but experts say its claim of essentially all of the South China Sea, home to vital shipping lanes and believed to be rich in oil and gas deposits, would fail under its provisions. Taiwan and ASEAN members the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei and Malaysia all make rival claims on areas of the sea, where tensions have mounted recently. Beijing voiced opposition to the row being discussed at this week’s ASEAN Regional Forum, a security-dominated meeting beginning Thursday.
