ASEAN foreign ministers have called for an environment that is conducive to continued negotiations for a Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea, as a standoff between China and Vietnam in the latter’s economic territory is feared to cause growing anxiety in the region. ASEAN’s top diplomats met in Bangkok this week for a second round of ministerial meetings with the group’s dialogue partners against the backdrop of recent tensions between Beijing and Hanoi. Four ASEAN countries — Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam — are at odds with China, which has been aggressively building and militarizing artificial islands as part of its sweeping claims over the South China Sea, one of the world's busiest sea routes. Tensions came to a head in recent weeks as a result of altercations between Chinese and Vietnamese vessels near an...