Asian nations are meeting to try to resolve a growing maritime crisis in the South China Sea.
China is involved in territorial disputes with several south-east Asian countries with the heightened tension leading to a military build-up in the waters over recent months.
Now a meeting of Asean – the Association of South East Asian Nations – has agreed on a new code of conduct which it hopes will help calm the crisis. It would spell out rules governing maritime rights and navigation of the South China Sea .
But the big question is how China will respond - China's foreign minister is attending the Asean conference to give his response but is not expected to give up China's regional maritime claims.
Cambodia is hosting the meeting of the 10 Asean nations in its capital, Phnom Penh. They are: Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Brunei, Laos, Vietnam, Burma and the Philippines.
China is seen as the regional super-power with vast economic interests across the region. That buys China dominance in the crisis.
Beijing lays claim to most of the South China Sea - an area stretching hundreds of miles south and east from its most southerly province of Hainan. It says its right to the area comes from 2,000 years of history.
It is in dispute with Vietnam over the Paracel and Spratly islands. Vietnam disputes China's historical account saying China never claimed sovereignty of the islands until the 1940s.
But the biggest tensions have been with the Philippines over the Scarborough Shoal - 100 miles from the Philippines, 500 miles from China.
The waters are hotly disputed because they are rich in natural resources like oil and gas; other parts are plentiful fishing grounds.
China clashed with Vietnam over the Paracels in 1974 resulting in the deaths of more than 70 Vietnamese troops. In 1988, the two sides clashed again in the Spratlys when Vietnam again came off worse, losing about 60 sailors.
The most recent rise in tensions coincides with some strongly worded statements from Beijing warning their rivals to stop any mineral exploitation in the area.
The Philippines and China have been engaged in a maritime stand-off with vessels from both countries refusing to leave the area.
There are unverified claims the Chinese navy deliberately sabotaged two Vietnamese exploration operations which led to large-scale anti-China protests on the streets of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
Vietnam has held live-fire exercises off its coast - which has been seen as gross provocation by Beijing.
