(VOVworld) – At a meeting in northeastern China on Wednesday, the Deputy Foreign Ministers of China and the nations of ASEAN agreed to finish by the middle of next year a framework for a Code of Conduct (COC) to ease tensions in the disputed East Sea, according to the China Daily.

China's Deputy Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin speaks during a news conference in Beijing, July 13, 2016. China Daily/via

The English language newspaper quoted Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin as saying all parties approved a basic plan on setting up hotlines to be used in case of emergencies in the East Sea. Documents on the hotline and unplanned encounters will be presented to leaders for final approval at the ASEAN summit in Laos early next month.