ASEAN not take sides in South China Sea disputes: senior Cambodian official

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) did not take any sides in South China Sea disputes, but supported the settlement of the disputes based on international law and agreed documents, a senior Cambodian official said here Sunday.

"ASEAN made the statement based on a principle that supports international law--the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea that states about the peaceful resolution of conflicts, the freedom of navigation, and the non-use of force," Kao Kim Hourn, minister attached to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, said, referring to a statement issued by the ASEAN foreign ministers in Myanmar on Saturday.

In the statement, the ministers expressed "serious concerns" over the ongoing developments in the South China Sea and called for a peaceful resolution.

"For the issues of South China Sea, ASEAN always urges all parties concerned to comply with the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea or DOC in 2002 and other agreed documents," he told a news conference at Phnom Penh International Airport after Prime Minister Hun Sen returned from the 24th ASEAN Summit in Myanmar.

"Cambodia and ASEAN alike do not side with any parties in the disputes. We stand on the principle of international law," he said.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.