A Joint Statement was issued on February 16, 2016, after the Heads of State/Government of the Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the United States of America gathered in Sunnylands, California, on February 15-16, 2016, for a Special Leaders Summit.  This Special U.S.-ASEAN Leaders Summit was the first ever to be held in the United States and the very first Summit following the establishment of the ASEAN Community. Paragraphs i, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 of the 17 paragraph statement referred to the safeguarding of territorial integrity of ASEAN members and the maritime dispute in the South China Sea.