Bali, Indonesia - China on Wednesday welcomed a document drafted by the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) guiding the conduct of countries in the disputed South China Sea.
'This is an important document, a milestone,' Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin said after talks with ASEAN senior officials on the Indonesian resort island of Bali.
Liu said the document, which was not released, would be submitted for endorsement Thursday at a meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers and their Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi.
'We are looking forward to cooperating with ASEAN countries,' he said.
Tensions have been rising in the oil- and gas-rich South China Sea, home to global shipping routes, in recent weeks after Vietnam and the Philippines accused China of incursions into sensitive areas and harassment of ships.
Beijing has alleged that Vietnamese boats had entered its waters illegally and endangered Chinese fishermen.
The Spratly islands and other parts of the South China Sea are subject to overlapping claims by Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei and Malaysia, all of which are among ASEAN's 10 members.
In 2002, ASEAN and China agreed on a non-binding declaration committing the parties to settling the disputes peacefully and respecting the status quo.
The new guidelines drafted by ASEAN proposes joint activities in the disputed sea to promote peace and cooperation, officials said.
The next step for ASEAN and China is to agree on a binding code of conduct. Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said there was still no timetable for the completion of such a code.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Tuesday urged ASEAN and China to step up their efforts to reach a binding agreement, saying that it would send a strong signal to the world that the future of the region is a predictable, manageable and optimistic one.
China has insisted that the disputes should be settled one-on-one and urged the United States not to get involved.
ASEAN foreign ministers and their counterparts from China, Japan and South Korea were to meet on Thursday in Bali.
Another meeting on Saturday is to bring together the foreign ministers from 26 countries - including ASEAN, Russia, China and the US - plus a representative of the European Union, grouped under the ASEAN Regional Forum, the largest security forum in the region.
ASEAN consists of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
-Nguồn: - China welcomes ASEAN draft agreement on South China Sea DPA
