Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said Indonesia is ready to work with all ASEAN member states, including the Philippines, to finalize the South China Sea Code of Conduct (CoC) as soon as possible.
She made the statement after a bilateral meeting with Philippine Foreign Minister Enrique A Manalo in the Philippines on Tuesday (9/1).
“We welcome the Statement on Maintaining and Promoting Maritime Stability in Southeast Asia issued by ASEAN Foreign Ministers on December 30 last year,” Retno said based on a transcript of her press statement on Wednesday.
The statement, Retno said, is an important step to ensure that the South China Sea remains a peaceful, stable and prosperous sea.
The Philippines and China have been involved in frequent disputes in the waters of the South China Sea in recent months, particularly near the disputed Second Thomas shoal that is part of the Spratly Islands.
Beijing claims sovereignty over almost all areas in the South China Sea, including parts of the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 said China’s claims had no legal basis.
In November 2023, the Philippines proposed a new code of conduct for stability and peace in the disputed South China Sea region.
Manila’s proposal came after President Ferdinand Marcos was concerned about the prolonged negotiations between Southeast Asian countries and China on the CoC in the South China Sea.
“We are currently negotiating our own code of conduct, for example with Vietnam because we are still waiting for the CoC between China and ASEAN and the progress is unfortunately a little bit slow,” Marcos said.
“So we are taking the initiative to approach countries around ASEAN, with whom we have territorial conflicts,” he added.
Marcos is also seeking support from countries, such as Vietnam and Malaysia, to establish a maritime code of conduct that will maintain peace in the South China Sea.
The South China Sea Declaration of Conduct of Parties (DoC) is an agreement on behavior in the South China Sea signed by ASEAN and China in November 2002, marking the first time China accepted a multilateral agreement on the issue.