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 China claims most of the sea but Southeast Asian countries
Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei and Vietnam have rival claims.
Friction has increased over China's recent deployment of missiles
and fighter jets to the disputed Paracel island chain.
"Ministers remained seriously concerned over recent and ongoing
developments," the 10-members Association of Southeast Asian
Countries (ASEAN) said in a statement after a regular meeting of the
group's foreign ministers in Laos.
Land reclamation and escalating activity has increased tensions and
could undermine peace, security and stability in the region, ASEAN
said in the statement.
The United States has criticized China's building of artificial
islands and facilities in the sea and has sailed warships close to
disputed territory to assert the right to freedom of navigation.
On Friday, the United States urged China's President Xi Jinping to
prevent the militarization of the region.
 Vietnam, which accused China of violating its sovereignty with the
missile deployment, echoed the U.S. call on Saturday.
"We call for non-militarization in the South China Sea," Deputy
Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh told reporters
after meeting his ASEAN colleagues.
"We have serious concerns about that," he said, when asked about
China's increasing military activity in the region.
The group agreed to seek a meeting between China and ASEAN's foreign
ministers to discuss the South China Sea and other issues, Cambodian
Minister Hor Namhong said.
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China's maritime claims are ASEAN's most contentious issue, as its
members struggle to balance mutual support with their growing
economic relations with Beijing. China is the biggest trade partner
for many ASEAN nations.
Neighbors Vietnam and China compete for influence over landlocked
Laos, which has no maritime claims but finds itself in the difficult
position of dealing with neighbors at odds over the South China Sea.
Laos is tasked with finding common ground on the issue as the ASEAN
chair in 2016.
"The South China Sea issue is a headache that Laos would really
rather not have to deal with," said one Western diplomat in
Vientiane.
Thongloun Sisoulith, Laos Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of
Foreign Affairs, played down the challenge.
"We are a close friend of Vietnam and China, we try to solve the
problems in a friendly way," he told Reuters on Saturday. "We are in
the middle, but it's not a problem."
Barack Obama is set to become the first U.S. president to visit the
country in September to attend an annual summit hosted by the ASEAN
chair.
(Editing by Catherine Evans)
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