As China throws its weight around the South China Sea to make good China's claim to own the vast majority of the sea despite counter-claims, the smaller states of Southeast Asia are urging China to discuss rules of the road on incidents at sea:
Tensions ratcheted up in the past week after China positioned a huge oil rig in an area also claimed by Vietnam, with each country accusing the other of ramming its ships in the region close to the disputed Paracel Islands.
ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh, who is Vietnamese, told Reuters the incident added urgency to concluding talks between ASEAN and China on agreeing a code of conduct in the resource-rich sea - a set of maritime rules to ease tensions.
But he pointedly said China's efforts to conclude the talks had fallen short of ASEAN's. Despite holding three rounds of talks since last year, the discussions had yet to focus on "substantive issues," he said.
The problem is that China thinks any code of conduct should simply be an agreement for other countries' ships to promptly get out of the way of China's ships--and apologize for being in the way while you're at it (and of course, get the Heck out of their city).
UPDATE: Yes, not doing what they are told is "provocative" behavior by ASEAN nations:
China's foreign ministry said there certainly had been provocative moves in the South China Sea, but that China was not the guilty party and repeated that it was the United States' fault for encouraging such behavior.
The Chinese are not shy about what they expect, you must admit.
