August 17, 2016

"China and ASEAN member countries have agreed to hasten consultations on the South China Sea Code of Conduct (COC), approving two documents on how to deal with unplanned encounters and maritime emergencies in disputed waters.

Analysts said the documents show progress made by China and ASEAN to contain potential conflicts.

Senior diplomats from China and 10 ASEAN states convened on Tuesday at the 13th Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM) on the Implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in Manzhouli, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

The two documents are guidelines on the establishment of the senior officials' hotline platform in response to maritime emergencies and a joint statement on applications of the Code for Unplanned Encounters (CUEs) in the South China Sea."

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