Southeast Asia and China struggle over maritime pact

07/12/12: Al Jazeera reports China and Southeast Asian countries have struggled to make progress on a code of conduct designed to ease tensions in the disputed South China Sea.  The two sides were due to meet ahead of a summit of the ten-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Cambodia amid disputes on what the code should include and how it should be implemented.  While the issue is not on the formal agenda for the ASEAN summit beginning on Thursday, it was raised informally by members and discussed during a separate ASEAN-China dialogue on Wednesday.  A joint statement to be issued by ASEAN foreign ministers was also held up as countries wrangled over whether to include a reference to recent spats over the resource-rich area pitting China against Vietnam and the Philippines.