JOINT STATEMENT ON THE APPLICATION OF THE CODE FOR UNPLANNED
ENCOUNTERS AT SEA IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA
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We, the Heads of State/Government of ASEAN Member States and the People’s Republic of China met in Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic on 7 September 2016.
Reaffirming our commitment to the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) and the Joint Statement of the Foreign Ministers of ASEAN Member States and China on the Full and Effective Implementation of the DOC, including the importance of the freedom of navigation and overflight, as provided for by universally recognised principles of international law including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS);