A Chinese Coast Guard boat sprays a water cannon at Filipino fishermen near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea during an encounter in 2015. Southeast Asian nations with claims in the South China Sea have long wanted to sign China up to a legally binding and enforceable code. China claims most of the energy-rich South China Sea, through which about US$5 trillion in sea-borne trade passes every year. Experts say China wants to appear to engage Asean or bind its claimant states to a weak code at a time when US policy on the South China Sea is in a state of flux. The framework represented progress, but expectations should be realistic, said Jay Batongbacal, a Philippine academic and expert on the South China Sea.

Source: Bangkok Post May 19, 2017 12:00 UTC