Members of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations are urging calm among those who operate in the increasingly volatile South China Sea.
The plea was made Wednesday in a joint statement between ASEAN and Australia at the end of a three-day summit in Melbourne. The summit marked the 50th anniversary of Australia establishing formal ties with ASEAN.
The declaration said Australia and ASEAN “recognize the benefits of having the South China Sea as a sea of peace, stability and prosperity,” and encouraged “all countries to avoid any unilateral actions” that could threaten those aspects.
