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ndonesia, which is not a claimant country in the South China Sea (SCS) issue, vows to work for peace and stability in Southeast Asia, and wants to turn all potential conflicts into an exercise in joint cooperation in managing the resources of the SCS, says the foreign minister.

'€œEverybody is worried about the latest situation in South China. We will turn potential conflict into cooperation, which is not new to us. We hope that the South China Sea will turn into a stable and calm region,'€ Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said in her opening remarks at the High Level International Workshop on '€œManaging the South China Sea Conflict from ASEAN Perspective'€ in Jakarta on Friday evening.

The one-day workshop was organized by Jakarta-based Center for Southeast Asian Studies. Ministers, ASEAN secretary-general Le Luong Minh, senior officials, several eminent scholars from foreign countries and Indonesia, diplomats, defense attaches of foreign embassies and public figures attended the gathering.

Based on the controversial nine-dash line map, China claims more than 80 percent of the 3.5 million square kilometer region of the South China Sea. Other nations such as Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei claim sovereignty over conflicting parts of the SCS.

The South China Sea issue, according to most of speakers, is the most complicated issue facing Asian nations. China'€™s unilateral claims on the SCS and its intention to use hard power to pursue its geostrategic ambitions threaten Southeast Asia'€™s stability and security.

'€œThe South China Sea issue is no longer about an issue of territory or sovereignty. It has become a geo-political issue,'€ Ralf Emmers, a well respected expert on SCS from the Singapore-based Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said.

Meanwhile, Indonesia'€™s popular Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Susi Pudjiastuti called on all parties stick to the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and not to use military force in pursuing their goals.

'€œThrough a military approach, we will never have any solution to the South China Sea issue. The rule of law must be upheld. We all agree to the UNCLOS. All these disputes must be solved through peaceful negotiations based on the UNCLOS,'€ Susi said.

Many countries, according to Susi, see China'€™s recent activities, which violate the UNCLOS and threaten biodiversity and marine ecology in the SCS, as '€œbullying'€.

Retno said that Indonesia wants be an honest broker in resolving the SCS dispute.

'€œWe have never been a claimant country. We are ready to become an honest broker in this issue,'€ Retno said.

But China'€™s controversial nine-dash line touches part of Indonesia'€™s Natuna islands. This has raised alarms in Indonesia.

According to Susi, China has said unofficially that it would not claim Indonesia'€™s Natuna islands. But Beijing recently published a map that includes a part of Natuna on the new Chinese passport. Several speakers demanded that China officially clarify their stance on this issue in view of growing relations between China and Indonesia on the one hand and shaky relations between China and ASEAN on the other.

'€œASEAN has good relations with China. Only the South China Sea issue remains a stumbling block. If we put aside this issue, our relations with Chine are in excellent shape,'€ Termsak Chaermpalanupap from the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore said.

On the question of how to manage the conflict in the SCS, Retno said that the most effective way is to have a Code of Conduct (CoC) and a united ASEAN.

'€œWe will expedite negotiations with China for an early conclusion of the CoC,'€ Retno said.

Meanwhile, Carl Thayer from the University of New South Wales, Australia, said that expansionist activities on Fiery Reef and other islets in the SCS did not constitute land reclamation.

'€œIt is not reclamation of land. It is a massive dredging activity near the islets,'€ Thayer said. (anj)