Japan has made no secret of its disappointment with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations after its 10 member states and China approved the framework for a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea in Manila on Sunday and pledged to hold further negotiations.

Going a step further, Japan, Australia and the United States issued a statement on Monday, asking ASEAN and China to establish a set of rules that would be "legally binding, meaningful, effective and consistent with international law", which is actually an attempt to encourage ASEAN members to confront China.

ASEAN and China also agreed to hold a meeting later this month to deliberate the modalities for finalizing the Code of Conduct based on the approved framework.