Claimants to the South China Sea are unlikely to come up with a code of conduct for the disputed waters when they hold regional summits next week, U.S. National Security Advisor Susan Rice said Thursday.
Rice made the remark during a White House briefing previewing President Barack Obama's trip to Turkey for a summit of the Group of 20 major economies, to the Philippines for a Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit and to Malaysia for the East Asia Summit.
"Obviously, this will be a central issue of discussion both at the East-Asia Summit as well as at the ASEAN-U.S. Summit and the other engagements that we have throughout our visit to Asia," Rice said of the territorial disputes between Southeast Asian nations and China.
The U.S. view has always been that such disputes should be resolved through peaceful, legal means, and that the establishment and implementation of a code of conduct agreed to among the countries in the region and, in particular, the claimants, would be a positive step forward, she said.
"This, though, is not a U.S. agreement or U.S. code, it's one that would need to be implemented by the parties involved. And I'm confident that this will continue to be something that we and others encourage, but I don't expect it to be a concrete outcome of this particular visit," she said.
Southeast Asian nations have called for the establishment of a code of conduct aimed at preventing armed conflicts in the disputed waters. But China appears to be reluctant about it, though Beijing claims it is taking an open-minded attitude on the issue.
According to news reports, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations plans to adopt a statement renewing calls for a code of conduct in the South China Sea.
Rice said that Obama's rebalance to Asia centers on building rules-based order in the region.
"We're working to strengthen respect for international norms, principles and values that offer everyone in the region an opportunity to compete and grow on an equal footing. And that certain shared responsibilities are assumed irrespective of relative size or strength," she said.
After summit talks with South Korean President Park Geun-hye, Obama also said he expects South Korea to "speak out" when China violates international norms. (Yonhap)
