SINGAPORE: Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the region needs to work towards
a code of conduct for the South China Sea and hopes to see informal discussions
on this started at next month's ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh.
Speaking to Singapore reporters
after he met Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen in Phnom Penh on Sunday, Mr Lee
said ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) has to work towards
managing a dispute which is inherently very difficult to solve.
At the same time, ASEAN should
not let the dispute hold up or overshadow the rest of its work at the summit.
Asked by reporters if he saw any
progress on the South China Sea issue, Mr Lee acknowledged that it would take
some time, especially when it involves the issue of sovereignty.
Mr Lee said: "Those
countries cannot concede and they would have to agree to disagree. For
management of the conflict on the ground, we have the Declaration of Conduct in
the South China Sea.
"We need to work towards a
code of conduct in the South China Sea and we hope that at the ASEAN Summit, we
can begin to have informal discussions which can lead towards negotiation of a
code of conduct."
Mr Lee noted that in the six
months since the foreign ministers met during their ASEAN Ministerial Meeting
in Phnom Penh, there have been "good signs". He believed the
six-point principles brokered by Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa
have been helpful.
There has also been contact
between the leaders of China and several ASEAN countries, including the visit
by China's Vice-Foreign Minister Fu Ying to the Philippines.
"I think this is something
that has moved forward. I see that the Chinese Vice-Foreign MInister Fu Ying
has just been to the Philippines and has had a good visit there and these are
good signs," said Mr Lee.
Mr Lee met Mr Hun Sen after he
paid his respects to the country's late former king, Norodom Sihanouk, at the
Royal Palace.
During their meeting, the two
leaders agreed that while the regional grouping has to deal with the issue of
competing territorial claims, it should not overshadow cooperation among
members states. They agreed that there are other areas of cooperation that
ASEAN must focus on.
ASEAN leaders will gather in
Phnom Penh from November 17 to 20 for their summit, as well as other meetings.
During their summit, they will also have talks with their East Asian
counterparts - the leaders of China, Japan and South Korea.
-CNA/ac
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