There is a chance that China will stop its island-building spree in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) and other areas if all members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and Japan agree to issue a united stand against Beijing’s sea activities, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said.

… “The territorial flashpoints in the South China Sea are not going away, but then again Asean-China relations have always been more than just the South China Sea,” Benjamin Ho, a maritime security researcher, said.

Ho, associate research fellow at the Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies, Nanyang Technological University of Singapore, said the Asean-China relations are largely very stable at the moment.

Ho said having a “Code of Conduct”or COC will certainly help clarify interests of the respective countries.