ABSTRACT
On 4 November 2002, the foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China’s Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs signed the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea. This appeared to herald a new era in relations between the two sides concerning the South China Sea dispute. Philippines Foreign Minister Blas Ople considered the declaration provided ‘a strong foundation for future negotiations with China and our other ASEAN partners on maritime security and territorial issues’1 while China’s ViceForeign Minister, Wang Yi, argued that it sends ‘a positive signal to the outside world that China and ASEAN have full capability to resolve disputes among themselves, peacefully through dialogue’2 and that it was ‘a symbol that would lead to new relations between ASEAN and China’.3
