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ndonesia and Vietnam may be able to showcase how successfully negotiations over a “code of conduct” on competing territorial claims over the South China Sea may play out in Southeast Asia, as Jakarta hosts Vietnam’s highest-ranking authority with an eye toward concluding outstanding border talks and increasing bilateral cooperation.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo will play host on Tuesday to Nguyen Phu Trong, secretary-general of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), the first of such a visit in more than 50 years, undertaken after the two nations agreed to upgrade their relations to a strategic partnership in 2013.

During the three-day visit, the two leaders are expected to witness the signing of two agreements, one a memorandum of understanding on rural development and the other a letter of intent between Indonesia’s Maritime Security Board (Bakamla) and the Vietnamese Coast Guard.

The latter agreement has emerged amid recent maritime skirmishes between the two nations in disputed overlapping territory, negotiations over which have not progressed despite political will on both sides.

Foreign Ministry official Desra Percaya told reporters on Monday that Indonesia would use the occasion of Nguyen’s visit to “provide forward momentum” to conclude outstanding negotiations on the exclusive economic zones claimed by both parties.

“The resolution of this issue would provide a chance for both sides to focus on wider cooperation initiatives such as addressing nontraditional threats and the development of fisheries cooperation initiatives,” Desra said.

The outstanding border negotiations also mirror to some extent the individual disputes between claimants over the South China Sea (SCS), which have resulted in tensions often used by the international community to question ASEAN’s effectiveness.

China has made sweeping claims over the resource-rich sea.

Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines have competing claims, but have agreed to settle their differences through bilateral negotiations with China.

Indonesia remains a non-claimant in the dispute, although it has engaged in posturing in the waters of the Natuna islands, which directly border the SCS.

Desra said the SCS dispute would not be “off the table.”

Indonesia’s Ambassador to Vietnam, Ibnu Hadi, has said the intention of the two nations to resolve border disputes is expected to strengthen coordination at sea, much like a “smaller scale” version of the code of conduct (CoC) over the South China Sea between ASEAN and China that is expected to provide definite guidelines.

“Regionally speaking, I see [the CPV’s visit] as an opportunity to tell the international community that ASEAN members are able to rally behind a common perspective for better cooperation, so that in the long term, the South China Sea becomes an even more stable,” Ibnu said on Monday.

As Vietnam’s highest authority, surpassing even the president and prime minister, CPV Secretary-General Nguyen is to meet with speakers of Indonesia’s Peoples Consultative Assembly, House of Representatives and Regional Representatives Council.

“The purpose of the visit is to increase cooperation in a number of sectors, including maritime cooperation, fisheries, trade and investments, as well as in regional issues,” Desra said Monday.

He emphasized how the visit carried particular weight considering Vietnam is currently the chair of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and is set to host the APEC Economic Leaders’ Summit in Da Nang, Vietnam, on Nov. 11 and 12, to which President Jokowi has been invited.