Centrum Stosunków Międzynarodowych - 08 September 2016: China and ASEAN signed the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea

China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at a bilateral summit on the 25th anniversary of the dialogue partnership, signed, in addition to general joint statement, a general statement on the use of the territory of the South China Sea Code of Conduct for unplanned contacts on the sea. The Code refers to naval and military ships and aircraft of participating countries. The document, which was signed by 21 States in 2014, in detailed manner determines procedures of units and groups of Navy warships or military aircraft of the participating countries during unscheduled meetings: negotiation procedure, used means of communication and frequencies, order and sequences of procedures on the place of unplanned meetings, etc.

In a joint statement, ASEAN-China Code named "communication tool that maximizes the security level on the sea."

The parties have agreed to use Codex standards for all unscheduled meetings in the waters and in the skies of the South China Sea the ships of their Navy and military aircraft, - said in the document. The parties believe that the use of the Code will contribute to enhancing security and risk mitigation at unscheduled meetings at sea, strengthen good-neighborly relations in the region and cooperation of ASEAN countries and China's naval forces, - said in the statement.

In general, the final document of the summit of the ASEAN-China reflected a mutual appreciation of the role of China and ASEAN in the Asia-Pacific region in the political and economic sphere, summed up the 25-year-old dialogue of cooperation of ASEAN and China, confirmed plans for the implementation of development programs of earlier cooperation till 2020 .