'Claimants only’ Code of Conduct on South China Sea risks polarising Asean

SINGAPORE/KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 25:The suggestion to negotiate a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea among claimant countries, rather than between Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) and China carries the risk of fracturing the 10-nation grouping, an analyst warned.

The grouping could see its unity erode should six members engage in talks with China rather than the grouping as a whole, putting Asean centrality on the line while allowing Asean’s powerful northern neighbour to outmanoeuvre and dictate terms to those seeking to negotiate the CoC, Collins Chong Yew Keat a foreign affairs analyst with University of Malaya said.