SINGAPORE: Southeast Asia and China have agreed on a working text to continue long drawn-out negotiations over a code of conduct in the disputed South China sea, with officials on Thursday lauding it as a “milestone” and “great progress”. Some members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China have overlapping claims to islands in the sea, one of the world’s busiest waterways. He said the “single draft COC negotiating text”, agreed at high-level talks in June but only announced on Thursday, would serve as the basis for negotiations. His Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, called the working text “good news” and “great progress”. Officials of the 10 nations of the ASEAN grouping also met counterparts in Russia, Japan and New Zealand.

Source: Pakistan Today August 02, 2018 12:00 UTC