NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar (AP) — Vietnam and the Philippines are pushing for stronger action to confront China’s aggressive behavior in the South China Sea at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Myanmar.

Vietnam has protested China’s oil rig deployment close to its shores, and sent a flotilla to confront about 50 Chinese vessels protecting the facility. It says the islands fall within its continental shelf and a 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone.

China claims sovereignty over the area and most of the South China Sea — a position that has brought Beijing in conflict with other claimants, including the Philippines and Malaysia.

Philippine President Benigno Aquino III says he intends to raise his country’s territorial dispute with Beijing, while calling for support to resolve its conflict through international arbitration.

China says the issue should not concern ASEAN and attempts by “one or two countries” to raise it harm regional cooperation.

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APPHOTO XGA102: CORRECTS LEADERS’ ID OF LAOS AND THAILAND – Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations pose for a photograph during the 24th ASEAN leaders Summit in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Sunday, May 11 2014. Leaders from left are, Philippine President Benigno Aquino III, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister Pongthep Thepkanjana, Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang, Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah, Myanmar President Thein Sein, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and Laos Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe) (11 May 2014)

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