Australia, Japan, U.S. call for South China Sea code to be legally binding

By Manuel Mogato and Christian ShepherdMANILA (Reuters) - Australia, Japan and the United States on Monday 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 and said they strongly opposed "coercive unilateral actions".The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China should establish a set of rules that were "legally binding, meaningful, effective, and consistent with international law", the foreign