Vietnam and Australia today called for “self-restraint” in the South China Sea and warned against the unilateral use of force – an obvious reference to China’s increasingly aggressive presence that has stirred concerns across the disputed region.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung – who met Australian counterpart Tony Abbott in Canberra to sign deals on security, climate change and others – told the Australian parliament there was an imperative need to draw up a code of conduct for the South China Sea.
“We agreed … [to] exercise self-restraint and refrain from actions that may escalate the tension in the region, including the use of force to unilaterally change the status quo,” Dung said.