The Jakarta Post
A dispute between Southeast Asian nations and China is expected to come into focus as Thailand hosts the ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting (AMM) in Bangkok this week, with ASEAN and China inching closer to completing the elusive code of conduct (COC) in the South China Sea. ASEAN member states and China have just completed a first reading of the draft codex for the disputed body of water, a step forward in a dispute that has been relatively calm but is tensing up again over concerns of Beijing’s growing influence in the region. Jose Tavares, Indonesia’s point man on ASEAN affairs, hailed the “positive development” in negotiations on the South China Sea dispute after negotiators from ASEAN and China hunkered down in Penang, Malaysia last week to discuss the evolving list of provisions. The senior Foreign Ministry official said that the results of the ...