Clinton, who is in Cambodia for a meeting of Southeast Asian foreign ministers, said Thursday that Washington is not taking sides in the territorial disputes that have placed China at odds with several of its Pacific neighbors.
"But we do have an interest in freedom of navigation, the maintenance of peace and stability, respect for international law, and unimpeded lawful commerce in the South China Sea," said Clinton in prepared remarks at the ASEAN regional forum.
Regional tensions have risen recently, with Vietnam, the Philippines and others accusing China of aggressive behavior in the sea. The area is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes and is thought to contain large reserves of oil and gas.
Clinton said Asian countries with competing claims in the region should work to "resolve disputes without coercion, without intimidation, without threats, and without use of force."
Southeast Asian nations have been working to establish guidelines for preventing further territorial disputes. Although ASEAN officials have reported progress on the so-called Code of Conduct, China has been reluctant to agree to such a deal.
Beijing, with its massive military power, prefers to deal with sea disputes on a country-by-country basis rather than dealing with ASEAN as a whole.
But Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Liu Weimin said Wednesday that China would not rule out agreeing to a set of guidelines.
"We hope to consolidate cooperation with the parties concerned on this issue," said Liu. "China maintains that the South China Sea issue should be discussed and solved peacefully by bilateral talks and is against other forces’ attempts to interfere and complicate the issue."
In her remarks Thursday, Clinton acknowledged that territorial disputes should be resolved between claimants, "whenever possible." But she also urged further progress on the long-stalled code of conduct in order to avoid "confusion and even confrontation."
But Clinton, who meets Thursday with Chinese foreign minister Yang Jiechi, has taken a softer, more cooperative tone towards Beijing during her multi-nation Asian trip.
Two years ago, Clinton angered China by telling the annual ASEAN meeting that the U.S. has a "national interest" in open access to the South China Sea - a move that prompted many Asian nations to step up their cooperation with the U.S. to counter rising Chinese influence.
Six governments claim all or part of the South China Sea, with its vast fishing grounds and potential oil and gas deposits. The claimants include Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. But China claims almost the entire region based on ancient records and a nearly 70-year-old map.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.
