Australia, Japan and the United States have urged Southeast Asia and China to ensure that a South China Sea code of conduct, they have committed to draw up, will be legally binding. <br/><br/>In a statement following a meeting in Manila today, the foreign ministers of the three countries said that they strongly opposed coercive unilateral actions that could alter the status quo and increase tensions. <br/><br/>They said, the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China should establish a set of rules that are legally binding, meaningful, effective, and consistent with international law.<br/><br/>Foreign ministers of ASEAN and China yesterday adopted a negotiating framework for a code of conduct, a move they hailed as progress but seen by critics as a tactic to buy China time to consolidate its maritime power. <br/><br/>Australia, Japan and the United States urged China and the Philippines to abide by last year's international arbitration ruling, which invalidated China's claim to almost the entire South China Sea. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have competing claims there. <br/><br/>