The US called on the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China to reach agreement on a full code of conduct in the South China Sea, which is referred to by Vietnam as the East Sea.

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton attends the US- ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam on Thursday, July 22, 2010. (AP Photo/Na Son-Nguyen)

"The US supports the 2002 ASEAN-China declaration on the conduct of parties in the South China Sea. We encourage the parties to reach agreement on a full code of conduct," US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said at a press conference in Hanoi on Friday. "The U.S. is prepared to facilitate initiatives and confidence building measures consistent with the declaration."

Clinton asserted the United States\' national interest in freedom of navigation, open access to Asia’s maritime commons, and respect for international law in the East Sea. "We share these interests not only with ASEAN members or ASEAN Regional Forum participants, but with other maritime nations and the broader international community," she said.

Delegates attending the forum, which includes the 10-member ASEAN, the European Union, the US, China, Russia, Japan and 12 other countries, on Friday discussed a long-running territorial dispute in the East Sea.

Clinton said 12 participants, including the US, raised the East Sea and general maritime navigation and claim issues in the discussion.

"The United States supports a collaborative diplomatic process by all claimants for resolving the various territorial disputes without coercion. We oppose the use or threat of force by any claimant," she said.

Clinton added that while the United States does not take sides on the competing territorial disputes over land features in the East Sea, they believe claimants should pursue their territorial claims and the company and rights to maritime space in accordance with the UN convention on the law of the sea.

ASEAN and China signed a declaration on the conduct of parties in the South China Sea in 2002, but experts say it is not sufficient to prevent conflicts.

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton: "Over the last 18 months we have signed the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, announced our intention to open a mission and name an ambassador to ASEAN in Jakarta, and held the first US-ASEAN summit. And we have pursued new sub-regional efforts like our new Mekong Delta partnership. "To build on that progress I conveyed to my colleagues our interest in engaging with the East Asia Summit as it plays an increasing role in the challenges of our time. And I announced that President Obama had asked me to represent the United States in an appropriate capacity at this year’s EAS in Hanoi to continue a process of consultations with a view toward full American participation at the presidential level in 2011. Through these consultations we will be working with EAS members to encourage its development into a foundational security and political institution for Asia in this century. The President also looks forward to hosting the second US-ASEAN leaders meeting in the United States this coming autumn."