(VOVworld)- The US Congress approved by a wide margin Resolution 167, sponsored by US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez, calling for peaceful solutions to East Sea and East China Sea disputes.  The coauthors were Senator Bob Corker, Ben Cardin and Marco Rubio of the Asia Pacific Subcommittee. Resolution 167 urges countries with claims in the East Sea and East China Sea to form a Code of Conduct in order to avoid conflict. The Resolution requires US Congress to condemn any threats, or use of force against navy, fishing or coast guard vessels or military or civilian aircraft in the East Sea and East China Sea. The resolution called on ASEAN and China to establish a Code of Conduct on the East Sea (COC). Menendez said the US will intervene diplomatically in disputes in the East Sea and East China Sea.

Resolution 167 called on ASEAN and China to establish a Code of Conduct on the East Sea (COC). Photo: johnib.wordpress.com

He said “with a long history of engagement in the region, the US has a vital interest in working with all nations in developing, institutionalizing, and sustaining a rules-based order for the area. That starts with putting in place effective mechanisms to manage maritime disputes that destabilize the region, and supporting and encouraging the peaceful resolution of disputes in the Asia-Pacific maritime domain.” Meanwhile, on his website, Menendez wrote, “The territorial disputes occurring in the Asia-Pacific region today are not about the past, but very much about the future of a region poised to serve as an epicenter for global economic development for the 21st century.”