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aintaining stability in the South China Sea is a shared responsibility among countries in the surrounding region, including China and ASEAN member states, the Foreign Ministry said on Sunday in response to a recent statement by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who said the dispute over the waters “is not a China-ASEAN dispute”.

Wang spoke on Saturday in the Laos capital, Vientiane and was quoted as saying that China had reached “an important consensus” with Brunei, Cambodia and Laos. Laos is the last leg of Wang’s three-nation visit, which has taken him to Brunei and Cambodia.

The South China Sea problem is not a China-ASEAN dispute and it “should not affect China-ASEAN relations”, the ministry said in a statement as quoted by Reuters.

Four members of the 10-member ASEAN — the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei — have rival claims to parts of the South China Sea with China, which has claimed ownership over virtually the entire sea. China is also the biggest trade partner of many ASEAN nations.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir said on Sunday that parties related to the dispute should respect the Declaration of Conduct (DOC) and the under-discussion Code of Conduct (COC) on the South China Sea — regional mechanisms that are designed to address conflicts on the waters — as regional stability was indeed a shared problem.

“Indonesia remains in its position that maintaining stability in the South China Sea is a shared responsibility between China, ASEAN and other countries related to the waters,” Arrmanatha told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

China’s maritime claims are ASEAN’s most contentious issue, as its members struggle to balance mutual support with their growing economic relations with China.

ASEAN expressed in February its serious concern about growing international tensions over the disputed waters and called for a speedy conclusion to the COC.

Land reclamation and escalating activity has increased tensions and could undermine peace, security and stability in the region, ASEAN said in a statement at that time.

China is also edging closer to building its first maritime nuclear power platform, which could sail to remote waters and provide stable power to its offshore projects in the South China Sea.

The US has criticized China’s building of artificial islands and facilities in the sea and has sailed warships close to disputed territory to assert the right to freedom of navigation. China seeks to keep the South China Sea off the agenda at multilateral forums, but other claimant countries, such as the Philippines, have sought to raise the issue at ASEAN summits.

The dispute has been divisive for ASEAN, with Chinese investment especially dominating Cambodia and Laos. Cambodia, a close Chinese ally, was accused of driving a wedge in the bloc in 2012 when its refusal to be drawn on China’s actions in the sea resulted in a customary communique at the end of an ASEAN summit not being issued for the first time.

Arrmanatha said that as Laos and Cambodia were not claimants of the disputed waters, it was more important for China to reach a consensus with claimant states only.

Wang said that China had reached a four-point consensus with Brunei, Cambodia and Laos on the South China Sea issue, according to Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua.

The three countries and China agreed that the right enjoyed by sovereign states to choose their own methods to solve disputes under international law should be respected and opposed any attempt to unilaterally impose an agenda on other countries.

The four countries also agreed that territorial and maritime disputes should be resolved through consultations and negotiations by parties directly concerned under Article 4 of the DOC. They believed that China and the ASEAN countries are able to jointly maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea through cooperation, while countries outside the region should play a constructive role in this regard.

Makmur Keliat, an expert on ASEAN from the University of Indonesia, said that while he agreed the dispute over the South China Sea should not be seen as a China-ASEAN conflict, it was important to intensify political and security talks by concluding the formulation of the COC to maintain relations with the East Asian giant.

“It is important not to regard the consensus reached as China’s bilateral or regional confrontational approaches,” Makmur said.
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