Southeast Asian leaders are hoping to reach a speedy agreement with China on a code of conduct in the South China Sea, but concede a definitive resolution is some way off.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Australia walked a careful line on the issue in a joint declaration issued at the end of a special summit in Sydney on Sunday.
While not directly criticising China, the leaders stressed the "importance of non-militarisation", freedom of navigation and overflight in the hotly-contested region.
"We emphasise ... the need to enhance mutual trust and confidence, exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities and avoid actions that may complicate the situation," the statement said.
The busy waterway is largely controlled by China but is also claimed by a number of other nations, including ASEAN member states.
The 10-member bloc last year agreed to a framework for negotiations on a code of conduct in the South China Sea.
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong confirmed talks would begin this year, with leaders hoping for "an early conclusion".
"This is an issue which we can manage, which we can help to prevent from escalating, but it is not an issue we can in a definitive way resolve in any short period of time," he told reporters.
"We have to accept that and work together in good faith."
Mr Lee noted it wasn't just an issue for claimant states - including ASEAN members Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines - but other nations in the region who will be affected "if it goes wrong".
"The parties have been working towards discussing this issue and making progress on it."
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was hopeful that a binding code of conduct would ease tensions.
"There is a strong consensus to ensure the tensions are brought to an end by an agreement to a binding code of conduct that will enable freedom of navigation and freedom of overflight to be maintained, and of course economic development to be undertaken," he said.
