PHNOM PENH (Kyodo) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen agreed Saturday that territorial disputes in the South China Sea should not be internationalized and should be resolved within the framework of ASEAN and China, a senior Cambodian official said.
Sry Thammarong told reporters that Hu and Hun Sen addressed issues surrounding the territorial disputes over the Spratly Islands, known in China as the Nansha, during a meeting in Phnom Penh.
Hu, who arrived in Cambodia on Friday on a four-day state visit, also pledged to provide Cambodia with 250 million yuan ($31.6 million) in grants and 200 million yuan in soft loans for Cambodia's economic and infrastructure development.
The visit comes ahead of a summit meeting of ASEAN leaders in Phnom Penh that is expected to take up the issue of territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
"The issue shall not be internationalized, but (remain) within the framework of ASEAN and China in order not to escalate it," Sry Thammarong, adviser to Hun Sen, quoted the premier as telling the Chinese leader.
China and the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations have been working on a "code of conduct" to govern state activities in the South China Sea, where China, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines and Brunei have conflicting claims over the sprawling Spratly island group.
Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines and Brunei are ASEAN members along with Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia.
China has strongly opposed "internationalizing" the territorial rows in the South China Sea, a thinly veiled warning against intervention from third countries, particularly the United States.
Following the meeting, Hu and Hun Sen attended the signing of 10 documents covering bilateral cooperation, trade and development assistance.
Hu started his Asia tour with a visit to Seoul, where he attended the Nuclear Security Summit, and then traveled to New Delhi, where he attended a BRICS summit of emerging economies Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
Hu plans to make a two-day sightseeing trip to the Angkor Wat world heritage site in Siem Reap Province before leaving Cambodia on Monday.
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