Southeast Asian leaders decided Sunday to ask China to start formal talks "as soon as possible" on crafting a legally binding accord aimed at preventing an outbreak of violence in disputed South China Sea territories, a top diplomat said.

Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations made the decision during their annual summit in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan said.

The South China Sea territorial disputes, which many fear could spark Asia's next war, have overshadowed discussions at the summit, where the top agenda items included human rights and expanding an Asian free-trade area.

Four countries in the 10-member ASEAN Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam have been locked in long-unresolved territorial rifts with China and Taiwan in the resource-rich waters, where a bulk of the world's oil and cargo passes. Since Chinese and Vietnamese naval forces engaged in deadly clashes in the region in the 1970s, the disputes have settled into an uneasy standoff.

AP

But fresh territorial spats involving China, Vietnam and the Philippines starting last year have set off calls for ASEAN and China to turn a nonaggression accord they signed in 2002 to a stronger, legally-binding "code of conduct" aimed at discouraging aggressive acts that could lead to dangerous confrontations or accidental clashes in the busy region.

ASEAN member countries have submitted features they each want to see in such an accord and were now ready to sit as a bloc to discuss with China how the agreement could be drafted. The crucial talks could start immediately, even right after the Cambodia summit, according to Surin.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, host of this year's summit, would convey the bloc's decision to his Chinese counterpart, Wen Jiabao, who would fly to Cambodia later Sunday to join expanded ASEAN meetings in the next two days.

"They would like to see the commencement of the discussion as soon as possible because this is an issue of interest, concern and worry of the international community," Surin told reporters. "It's an issue between ASEAN and China to resolve together ... It needs two to tango."

U.S. President Barack Obama, would also fly to Cambodia to attend on Tuesday the so-called East Asia Summit, an annual forum where ASEAN leaders and their counterparts from eight other nations, including China and the United states, would discuss security and economic concerns. Washington has backed calls for the drafting of a South China Sea nonaggression pact.

Excerpt from:

SE Asia to Ask China to Start Talks Over Islands