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View all search resultsHopes are not high that the talks in Vientiane will result in significant progress on the South China Sea issue, such as a code of conduct (COC) for nations operating in the body of water, but analysts warn that ASEAN must at least refrain from backpedaling on its existing position.
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of the event where he will "discuss the importance of adherence to international law in the South China Sea", according to the US State Department.
A lack of unity among ASEAN nations is regarded as the core stumbling block to immediately concluding the long-awaited code of conduct (COC) in the South China Sea, which had been expected to establish a guiding framework for preventing an open conflict in the troubled waters.
“If only” isn’t a good basis for designing foreign policy, but ASEAN and China both need to look beyond the current tensions in the South China Sea at the bigger, far-reaching picture of the region’s future to decide if they want peace and if so, how they’re going to get there, together.
Ahead of Jokowi's trip, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said the country was ready to work with other Southeast Asian nations to finalise a long-delayed code of conduct for the South China Sea, amid tensions with Beijing in the contested waterway.
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