Foreign ministers push for Code of Conduct to solve South China Sea dispute

KUALA LUMPUR: The South China Sea spat took centre stage at the 48th Asean Ministerial Meeting (AMM) with the region’s foreign mi­nisters urging intensified efforts to draw up a Code of Conduct (CoC) amid rising tensions in the disputed waters.

China, one of the claimants in the maritime dispute, is adamant that the issue be kept off the agenda at the ongoing AMM and that it should be thrashed out at the senior officials’ level.