ASEAN TO DISCUSS SOUTH CHINA SEA WITH BEIJING NEXT WEEK

ASEAN ministers will discuss a Code of Conduct (COC) for the South China Sea next week amid concerns of China’s increasing militarization in the area, according to The Straits Times. In a statement released during the 32^nd ASEAN Summit in April, leaders agreed to work actively towards the conclusion of an effective COC. There are overlapping territorial and maritime claims in the South China Sea by China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan. Britain is planning to send an aircraft carrier, the HMS Queen Elizabeth, to the South China Sea to back up Australia as the two countries seek to deal with China’s growing aggressiveness in the region. Britain’s increasingly frequent naval patrols in the South China Sea are part of London’s efforts to craft a less Eurocentric foreign policy, writes Zachary Keck for The National Interest.