TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Ma’ruf calls for dialogue, adherence to international law in ASEAN meeting with China
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Leaders of the 27th ASEAN-China Summit pose for a group photo at the National Convention Center in Vientiane, on Oct. 10. (Reuters/Athit Perawongmetha)
V
ice President Ma’ruf Amin on Thursday met with China in high-level ASEAN talks in Vientiane, calling for stability and increased communication in regard to the South China Sea as pressure continues to mount on the organization to respond to Beijing’s activities in the disputed waters.
Representing President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in the meeting between ASEAN leaders and Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Ma’ruf said cooperation with ASEAN was key to ensuring regional stability, according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry.
“[The Vice President] urged ASEAN and China to work together to maintain [stability] and peace, emphasizing that all disputes should be resolved through dialogue and international law,” the ministry said.
According to the ministry, Ma’ruf also suggested “reactivating direct communication channels between ASEAN and Chinese officials to prevent incidents in the South China Sea”.
Tensions in the South China Sea continue to cast a dark pall over the ASEAN summit in Laos where leaders have gathered to discuss some of the region’s most pressing challenges, as well as meeting with top diplomats of partnering nations including the United States, China and Russia.
Read also: Sea row on the menu as ASEAN leaders meet China's Li
China’s sweeping claims over the region’s most strategic waters, its maritime territorial disputes with some ASEAN members and hostile face-offs at sea with other claimants have put considerable pressure on Southeast Asian countries in the past decade. As a result, some of those countries have aligned themselves more closely with the US for security reasons.
