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China, ASEAN to intensify negotiations on South China Sea code
Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi met with Chinese counterpart Qin Gang in Jakarta, ahead of a round of negotiations on the code starting in March.
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Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang stands with Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi during a press briefing in Jakarta, February 22, 2023. (Reuters/Adek Berry)
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egotiations on a code of conduct (COC) for the South China Sea will be intensified this year, Indonesian and Chinese foreign ministers said on Wednesday, as the region frets over China's assertiveness in the strategic waterway.
Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi met with Chinese counterpart Qin Gang in Jakarta, ahead of a round of negotiations on the code starting in March.
"Indonesia and ASEAN would like to produce an effective, substantive and actionable (code of conduct)," Retno said, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a regional bloc that Indonesia chairs this year.
Qin added that China and ASEAN will jointly safeguard peace and stability in the strategic trade corridor, through which about $3.4 trillion of goods pass each year.
China would work with ASEAN countries to accelerate consultations on the code, he said.
Beijing claims much of the South China Sea and has built islands from which it is capable of deploying advanced weaponry. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Brunei also have some overlapping claims.
China and ASEAN countries agreed in 2002 to work towards creating a code of conduct and it was 15 years before moves were underway to create a framework for negotiations.
