United States (US) Secretary of State John Kerry and Asean Secretary General Le Luong Minh underlined the importance of “exercising self-restraint” in view of the “complicated developments” in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) where China’s perceived aggressiveness has become a concern for the international community.

According to a statement by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), Kerry paid a courtesy call on Minh and other senior officials at the Asean headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia to discuss US-Asean relations “and other regional issues of mutual interests and concern.”