NANNING, Sept. 18-- Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin has called for maritime cooperation between China and ASEANcountries to stabilize the region.

On the sidelines of the 12th China-ASEAN Expo, which opened on Friday in Nanning, capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Liu said that despite obvious benefits, China and ASEAN countries have lacked proper maritime cooperation.

"Some ASEAN countries and China still have disputes, and our relations are being meddled in by countries outside the region," he said.

The disputes, which he said were between China and individual countries, not between China and ASEAN, should not disrupt maritime cooperation.

This year is the "Year of China-ASEAN Maritime Cooperation."