Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi pledged to continue negotiations on the Code of Conduct (CoC) and the implementation of the South China Sea Declaration of Conduct of Parties (DoC) with ASEAN countries.
“In order to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea, China and ASEAN countries should continue to implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and at the same time speed up negotiations on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea,” Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in response to a question from ANTARA at a press conference on “China’s diplomacy and foreign relations policy” in Beijing, China on Thursday.
The South China Sea is still a hotspot of problems in the region as China claims almost all waters in the South China Sea.
ASEAN member countries Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Philippines also claim the area.
ASEAN and China have long been trying to formulate a legally binding CoC to avoid conflict between disputing countries in the region.
“The CoC is useful to establish regional rules that are more effective and substantive and in line with international law of the sea. Currently, negotiations have reached the third reading and we are ready to work with ASEAN countries to achieve this Code of Conduct as soon as possible so as to realize peace and cooperation in the South China Sea,” Wang Yi added.
Wang Yi said that until now China has always been very restrained and advocated mutually acceptable solutions in the spirit of “good neighborliness and friendship” and respect for historical facts and law.
“But we will not allow that good faith to be abused and will not accept violations of the law of the sea. For intentional violations, we will defend our rights in accordance with the law, we will also respond to unreasonable provocations promptly,” Wang Yi added.
On Tuesday (5/3) there was renewed tension in the South China Sea when there was a ship collision incident between the Philippine coast guard and the Chinese coast guard in waters near the Ren’ai Jiao reef.
“We also advise certain countries outside the region not to cause trouble, take sides, and become destroyers in the South China Sea,” Wang Yi said.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi said there are two emphases for negotiations in the South China Sea.
“First, existing disputes should be properly managed and resolved by relevant countries through dialog, consultation and negotiation, and second, peace in the sea should be maintained through joint efforts of China and ASEAN countries. These two points are also the core of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, signed in 2002,” Wang Yi explained.
However, Wang Yi reiterated that the uninhabited reef area in the South China Sea, namely Nanhai Zhudao, has long been an area under the jurisdiction of the Chinese government.
“Today, the South China Sea is the busiest, safest and freest shipping lane in the world. For decades, 50 percent of the world’s merchant ships and one-third of the world’s maritime trade passed through it without any interruption. Given the turbulent world, peace and stability in the South China Sea will not be possible without joint efforts between China and ASEAN countries,” Wang Yi said.
In 2002, the South China Sea DoC was agreed between China and ASEAN countries. The DoC is a non-binding agreement that outlines the principles of peaceful dispute resolution in the waters.
The DoC calls on parties to refrain from activities that could threaten or deploy troops, resolve disputes peacefully through dialogue and consultation, and respect freedom of sailing and overflight.
During Indonesia’s chairmanship of ASEAN in 2023, the CoC negotiations have reached the second reading stage.
The first-of-its-kind guidelines summarize the ASEAN-China aspiration to complete the CoC in three years or less through intensive discussion of issues that have been pending.
The CoC is expected to become a code of conduct that reflects international norms, principles and rules that are in line with and refer to international law, especially the United Nations Convention on the International Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) for the creation of a stable, safe and peaceful South China Sea region.