Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida has conveyed Japan's stance on South China Sea disputes to his Laotian counterpart, Saleumxay Kommasith, who is chairing an Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting debating the issue, a Foreign Ministry official said.
The ASEAN meeting is the first since an international tribunal ruled in a case brought by the Philippines that effectively invalidated China's vast territorial claims in the South China Sea.
Japan says the ruling is binding on parties to the dispute — China and the Philippines — and has called for a peaceful resolution to rival territorial disputes in the area, and compliance with international law.