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Finding common ground on COC ‘still a challenge’
China and ASEAN risk jeopardizing negotiations for a Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea, analysts have warned, after the latest round of talks offered little progress, with Indonesia citing “ongoing disagreements”.
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Vessels identified by the Philippine Coast Guard as Chinese maritime militia vessels travel near Thitu Island in the South China Sea on March 9. (AFP/Jam Sta Rosa)
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hina and ASEAN risk jeopardizing renewed negotiations for a Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea, analysts have warned, after the latest round of talks offered little progress, with Indonesia citing “ongoing disagreements”.
But Jakarta also insisted that the meeting had focused on ensuring that any initiatives peripheral to the drafting of the COC document would utilize existing ASEAN-led mechanisms, including the East Asia Summit (EAS).
Last week, the first round of COC negotiations under Indonesia’s ASEAN chairmanship took place at the 38th meeting of the ASEAN-China Joint Working Group on the Implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (JWG-DOC).
The meeting saw senior diplomats from Southeast Asian nations and China mull over the long-awaited COC, which refers to a decades-old unfinished framework aimed at preventing an open conflict by establishing clear guidelines for nations operating in the contested waters.
China has made sweeping claims over the South China Sea, which conflict with other claims by several contiguous ASEAN member states, as well as Taiwan.
On Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that several agreements had been reached during the COC talks in Jakarta, skipping out on any indication of differences previously mentioned by Jakarta.
“[China and ASEAN member states] agreed to carry out multiple practical cooperation projects in [fields including] marine scientific research, environmental protection and search and rescue operation at sea,” said Wang, according to a readout of a press conference that day.
