Taking a united position, ASEAN leaders on Sunday, November 18, urged China to sit down for top-level talks to settle territorial disputes in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea). ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan that “the ASEAN side is ready and waiting for our Chinese friends to come forward.” At the soonest possible time, they want “more formal and official” talks on a legally binding code of conduct that could ease tensions. China, according to its foreign ministry spokesman, wants to continue with lower-level negotiations agreed on in 2002. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan claim parts of the sea, while China insists it has rights to virtually all of the sea.
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