While US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's elaboration on a free and open Indo-Pacific at a business forum in Washington on Monday, two days before he embarked on a trip to Asia, was not short of lofty words and promises, it did lack honesty, sincerity and substance.
China and all the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have agreed on a "milestone" single draft text as they negotiate the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said.
The foreign ministers of China and ASEAN sent the unmistakable message that the two sides are determined to steadily push for a rules-based mechanism to safeguard peace and stability in the waters when they announced they had agreed on an initial negotiating draft for the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea at their meeting in Singapore on Thursday.
China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have arrived at a single draft negotiating text of the Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday.
Sources told China Daily on Thursday that a Japanese media report is 'fake news' as it falsely claims that some foreign ministers of Southeast Asian countries will raise fresh "concern" in an annual joint communique to be issued later on Thursday over China and its land reclamation in the South China Sea.
China said on Monday its dispatching of a rescue ship to the Nansha Islands shows its commitment to fulfilling its duty in the South China Sea.
As the new coordinator of ASEAN-China dialogue relations, the Philippines is looking forward to making contributions to further the relationship between ASEAN and China, a senior Philippine diplomat said.
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