Leaders of the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and their Chinese counterpart are expected to agree to concluding consultations on the outline of a legally binding code of conduct in the South China Sea in the first half of next year, a draft statement said ahead of the meeting.
According to the draft chairman’s statement, seen by Kyodo News, ASEAN leaders are expected to “welcome” China’s vision of completing “the implementation of the code of conduct’s early harvest measures by the end of 2016” and “consultation on the COC outline in the first half of 2017 under circumstances without disturbances and to fast track COC consultation.”
The statement will be issued at the end of the summit between ASEAN and China on Wednesday, a meeting that will also commemorate the 25th anniversary of dialogue relations between the two sides.
Read the full story at Tankler