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RI stresses need for peace, prosperity for ASEAN-China amid sea tensions
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Representatives of China and ASEAN member countries pose for a group photo during the ASEAN-China foreign ministers’ meeting in Kunming, China, on Tuesday. (Courtesy of Foreign Ministry/-)
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ndonesia has reiterated the importance of maintaining peace and stability to ensure conducive conditions between ASEAN and China in pursuit of economic goals.
"Peace and prosperity are the business cores in the partnership between ASEAN and China," Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said in her remarks at the June 13-14 ASEAN-China foreign ministers' meeting in Kunming, China, on Tuesday.
Indonesia hopes that cooperation between the region and China can be well translated in the field, Retno further said. The 11 foreign ministers who attended the meeting stressed the importance of strengthening economic relations, especially in relation to attaining goals to increase trade to US$1 trillion and investment to $150 billion by 2020. China is ASEAN's biggest trade partner while the region is China's third biggest.
The participants all emphasized that to attain both targets, ASEAN and China must maintain peace and stability in the region, including in the disputed South China Sea. On this issue, the foreign ministers of the 10 ASEAN countries and China, of which several are involved in territorial disputes, had agreed on the need for the full implementation of the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, as well as the needed conclusion of the code of conduct included within the framework.
As for Indonesia, which is not a claimant in the dispute, the country reiterates the importance of respecting international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). "Without respect for international law, peace and stability [the goals] will be difficult to realize," Retno said.
