ASEAN Summit-24 Chair issued statement on East Sea situation

The Chair of the 24th ASEAN Summit has issued a statement expressing deep concerns over the ongoing developments in the East Sea. 
 
The statement affirmed the importance of maintaining peace and stability, maritime security and safety and freedom of navigation and aviation on the East Sea. 
 
It called on all parties to the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) to fully and effectively implement the DOC in order to create an environment of trust while restraining themselves, resolving disputes by peaceful means in line with universally accepted principles of international law and the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) without resorting to use or threat to use force. 
 
The ASEAN Summit Chair also laid emphasis on the need to early achieve a Code of Conduct (COC) in the East Sea. 
 
At the same time, the statement recognised the importance of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Statement on the Current Developments in the East Sea issued by the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM) on May 10.