US Encourages ASEAN-China to Develop Rules for South China Sea

WASHINGTON—The Biden administration is supportive of ASEAN’s efforts to increase peaceful cooperation with China’s communist regime in the South China Sea.
ASEAN, a political and economic bloc of nations in southeast Asia, held a summit this week, during which it announced that the group was heartened by “ongoing efforts to strengthen cooperation between ASEAN and China,” as well as its efforts to craft a “Code of Conduct” for the South China Sea. China and numerous ASEAN members all lay claim to overlapping portions of it.
The Biden administration supports such initiatives and believes such frameworks are an invaluable avenue for maintaining peace in the region, said State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel during a May 11 press briefing….}