Sydney/Jakarta | Renewed support from the United States and Australia for ASEAN countries has piled on the pressure for China to agree to a new set of rules that would check its aggressive expansion in the South China Sea.

Australia’s mission to the UN declared on Friday that “Australia rejects China’s claim to ‘historic rights’ or ‘maritime rights and interests’ as established in the ‘long course of historical practice’ in the South China Sea”. The wording echoes a declaration earlier this month by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stating that China's claims to offshore resources in the area are unlawful.