Foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) emphasized full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC).

In a joint communique released on Monday after a ministerial meeting in the Lao capital, the ministers said, "We underscored the importance of the full and effective implementation of the DOC in its entirety."

They also urged all parties to work expeditiously for the early adoption of an effective Code of Conduct (COC).

The document did not mention the ill-founded award issued by an ad hoc tribunal on July 12 over the South China Sea arbitration unilaterally initiated by the Philippines.

China has dismissed the biased ruling as "null and void with no binding force."