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With East Asian countries remaining locked in a tussle over mineral-rich South China Sea, India today said the dispute should not override the interests of the region and favoured an "open, inclusive and rule-based" architecture to govern the maritime region.
India wants a peaceful resolution of the dispute, over which it also was involved in a tiff with China about a year back, and hopes the efforts to evolve legally-binding Code of Conduct for management of the region would succeed.
Indian Government sources said peaceful resolution and free navigation is in the interest of all countries in the region.
Not being in disbelief that countries having stakes would give up their sovereign rights, India hopes that the nations involved in it would "manage" the issue till it is addressed.
The sources noted that the issue, which figured at the East Asia Summit attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, was raised by the countries concerned in "much softer tone" this time, in contrast to last year when there were fears of it erupting into a major confrontation.