U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Sunday that China and Southeast Asia must urgently finalise a code of conduct for the South China Sea, a potentially oil-rich region. "We think that it was an important first step but only a first step," Clinton told reporters after Beijing and members of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agreed last week to work toward a new mechanism for resolving disputes. "We ... urge that ASEAN move quickly, I would even add urgently, to achieve a code of conduct that will avoid any problems in the vital sea lanes and territorial waters of the South China Sea." "All of us have a stake in ensuring that these disputes don't get out of control," Clinton said during an appearance with Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, according to a report of Reuters.
