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East Sea dominates ASEAN-China talks
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Representatives of China and ASEAN member countries pose for group photos during the ASEAN-China foreign ministers’ meeting in Kunming, China, on Tuesday. (Courtesy of Foreign Ministry/-)
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SEAN foreign ministers asked ASEAN and China to show political will and greater efforts to ensure peace and security in the East Sea and comply with basic principles of international law.
ASEAN-China relations and the East Sea (widely known as South China Sea) issue dominated a special meeting between foreign ministers from ASEAN and China in Kunming, in China’s Yunnan Province, Tuesday.
Expressing concern over complicated developments in the East Sea and their obstacles, Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh called on ASEAN and China to increase dialogues and co-operation to deal with the issue while complying with commitments through concrete actions and the peaceful settlement of disputes in line with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
He urged parties to refrain from using force or threatening to use force, and also urged efforts to prevent other actions that could further complicate the dispute, particularly via non-militarization in the East Sea, the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and the early formulation of a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).
The Vietnamese leader also pushed forward progress in bilateral talks on sea boundary delimitation.
Participants expressed their delight at the outcomes of the implementation of the 2011-2015 Action Plan for the Joint Statement on the ASEAN-China Strategic Partnership, including upgrades to the ASEAN-China free trade agreement.
China remains ASEAN’s biggest trade partner with two-way trade of US$470 billion, which is expected to soar to $1 trillion by 2020.
Ministers sought to further promote co-ordination across the fields of politics-security, economy, socio-culture and development. They committed to effectively materializing the 2016-20 Action Plan and preparing for the Commemorative Summit of ASEAN-China Relations in Vientiane, Laos, this September, including drafting the ASEAN-China Joint Statement on enhancing manufacturing capability and increasing collaboration via ASEAN mechanisms to deal with common challenges.
The ASEAN foreign ministers shared the view that the maintenance of peace, stability, overflight and navigation security, safety and freedom in the East Sea is a shared responsibility.
They expressed their concerns about recent issues in the East Sea, especially land reclamation, large-scale construction, militarization on man-made islands and actions affirming sovereignty not grounded in international law.
They asked ASEAN and China to show political will and greater efforts to ensure peace and security in the East Sea and comply with basic principles of international law.
Measures to build trust and preventive diplomacy need to be adopted, they said.
The two sides also hailed the outcomes of the ASEAN-China senior officials’ 12th meeting on DOC implementation recently held in the Vietnamese northern province of Quang Ninh.
They reaffirmed their commitment to manage disputes and prevent conflicts, as well as to finish drafting the Declaration on the implementation of the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea to submit to the Commemorative Summit for approval. They also agreed to launch a hotline for diplomatic officials to deal with contingencies in the East Sea.
