Cognizant of the need to promote a peaceful, friendly and harmonious environment in the South China Sea between ASEAN and China for the enhancement of peace, stability, economic growth and prosperity in the region;

Committed to enhancing the principles and objectives of the 1997 Joint Statement of the Meeting of the Heads of State/Government of the Members States of ASEAN and President of the People’s Republic of China;

Desiring to enhance favorable conditions for a peaceful and durable solution of differences and disputes among countries concerned;

Hereby declare the following:

1. The Parties reaffirm their commitment to the purposes and principles of the

Charter of the United Nations, the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in the Southeast Asia, the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, and other universally recognized principles of international law which shall serve as the basic norms governing state-to-state relations;