U.S. welcomes ASEAN-China accord on S. China Sea+

     NUSA DUA, Indonesia, July 20 Kyodo -
     The United States on Wednesday welcomed an agreement struck between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China on guidelines that would govern behavior in disputed areas in the South China Sea in an effort to build confidence and reduce tension among claimant countries.
     ''We welcome that progress. We support that overall process, and we will have more to say about in the days ahead,'' Kurt Campbell, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, told journalists after meeting Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin on the Indonesian resort island of Bali.
     Earlier Wednesday, senior officials of the 10-member ASEAN and China reached agreement on guidelines to implement a declaration of conduct among countries with overlapping claims in the South China Sea, including the Spratly and Paracel islands.
     Campbell said he and Liu discussed high-level exchanges between the two countries, including a planned meeting in Bali between U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, upcoming talks between Clinton and Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo, Beijing's top foreign policy official, in Shenzhen, China, on Monday, and a planned visit to China later this year by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden.
     ''We want to ensure that the United States and China are sending a message that we are prepared to work together in a productive way going forward,'' Campbell said.
     Clinton is scheduled to arrive in Bali on Thursday night for a series of meetings among foreign ministers of ASEAN and its dialogue partners including members of the 18-nation East Asia Summit and the 27-member ASEAN Regional Forum on security-related matters.
==Kyodo
2011-07-21 00:32:12