CHINA has made a quantum leap away from its long-held position about the South China Sea. Attending the 2016 summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in Vientiane, Laos, as a dialogue partner, it has agreed to work together with the 10-nation Asean grouping to formulate a framework this year for a legally-binding code of conduct in the disputed South China Sea.

Chinese premier Li Keqiang earlier held talks with the 10 Asean heads of state that included four—Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines—which dispute China’s claim over almost all of the South China Sea as its private backyard.