Le Luong Minh, secretary-general of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, said ASEAN foreign ministers expressed concerns in a meeting over massive Chinese island-building activities that have escalated tensions in the area.
China, Taiwan and several ASEAN members - the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei - have wrangled over ownership and control of the South China Sea in a conflict that has flared on and off for decades.
