Speaking at the 20th Asia-Pacific Programme for Senior Military Officers on Monday, Singapore’s Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen called on China and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nation to speed up the conclusion of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, citing the urgency to maintain maritime stability. After more than a decade of talks, a bloc of Southeast Asian nations and China agreed last week on a draft code of conduct that will lay the foundation for negotiations over the disputed South China Sea. Despite this progress, ASEAN and China are a long way from reaching a consensus on a final document, and the United States is likely to try to sabotage any agreement that could weaken its position in the region, writes Emanuele Scimia for the South China Morning Post.