Australia has urged members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) not to compromise their rights over the South China Sea in crafting the Code of Conduct in the contested waters.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Wednesday that the regional bloc must not "agree to anything which derogates from the rights of states under international law."
Saying Canberra respects the principle of ASEAN Centrality, Wong said her call only stemmed from the standpoint of a nation that also has an interest in the disputed waterway, particularly with regards to peace and stability in the region.
Five countries from the 10-member regional bloc have their own respective claims over the South China Sea, which all overlap with China's. They are Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
"We would urge states not to agree to anything that lessened their rights," she said in an interview with CNN Philippines as she began her four-day visit to the Philippines.
"This is a matter ultimately for ASEAN to consider," she also said.
Australia, Wong said, backs the Philippines in its fight for the West Philippine Sea, a part of the bigger South China Sea that China also claims. The Philippines' right over the West Philippine Sea is based on the internationally recognized United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and 2016 Arbitral Ruling, she cited.
"We all want a region in which rules ameliorate the exercise of power. And it is through that that countries can maintain their sovereignty and their capacity to make their own decisions. So, we were very supportive of that tribunal ruling," she said.
"We don't want a region which is dominated to an extent where other countries cannot make their own decisions," she added.