T

he Indonesian government has been lauded for advancing maritime cooperation toward implementing the Declaration of Conduct (DOC) to ease disputes in the South China Sea, while being told to step up negotiations over a relevant code.

The Indonesian delegation at the 4th ASEAN-China Senior Officials Meeting, held in Beijing over the weekend, expressed hope that further cooperation could help implement the DOC, which was agreed to in 2002 but guidelines for its implementation were only adopted last July.

ASEAN member states and China signed the DOC to build mutual trust and understanding over disputes in the South China Sea, which could create peace and stability in the region.

“At the [Saturday] meeting, Indonesia asserted the view that there currently is an open momentum for ASEAN-China to implement the DOC ... with the adoption of the guidelines,” the Indonesian Foreign Ministry said in a statement to The Jakarta Post.

University of Indonesia international relations expert Haryadi Wiryawan commended the Indonesian delegation’s move and said he hoped “soft, non-political” approaches in dealing with South China Sea issues would prevent defense and territorial conflicts.

“We’ve been focusing too much on the presence of forces in the South China Sea. But academic and economic approaches, in which involved parties can all benefit from, has a large potential to prevent conflicts,” Haryadi said in a phone interview with the Post.

He added Indonesian universities were ready to foster joint marine research with counterparts in China and other ASEAN countries as part of the maritime partnership.

In its statement, the Foreign Ministry said the partnership should include designated areas for freedom of navigation, search and rescue, marine ecosystem and biodiversity and marine environmental concerns, as well as regions targeting sea piracy and transnational crimes.

The proposal is among Indonesia’s top foreign policy programs for 2012, which, according to Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa’s New Year speech, includes strengthening maritime cooperation with other countries in the region.

The ministry also said work plans for 2012 were discussed at Saturday’s meeting. The organization of several joint workshops was agreed upon, including on marine ecological environment and monitoring techniques (to be held in China) and search and rescue (Vietnam).

Haryadi, however, suggested that Indonesia also push forward intense negotiations on a Code of Conduct (COC) to further govern activities in the South China Sea, citing lingering territorial claims that continually have led to conflicts between countries bordering the sea.

While the DOC offers only a declaration of good will, the code is expected to provide stricter rules on activities in the area.

Haryadi expressed skepticism that the code could be completed and approved at the ASEAN-China Summit later this year, as has been hoped by many, unless “serious efforts” were carried out to escalate negotiations, expected to commence early this year.

Mark J. Valencia, a research associate at the National Asia Research Program and the Woodrow Wilson Institute, wrote in The Nation newspaper last month that the code should govern all activities, including, marine scientific research, military activities and resource exploration and exploitation.

“As a fundament it should reaffirm the parties’ commitment to the purposes and principles of the United Nations, the 1982 Law of the Sea, and China’s five principles of peaceful coexistence — and that they will interact on the basis of equality and mutual respect,” he wrote in the article.