SINGAPORE: Foreign ministers from Southeast Asia and China have agreed on a single draft document that will be the basis of negotiations on a South China Sea code of conduct.
This was announced by Singapore’s Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan on Thursday (Aug 2) at the start of an annual ministerial meeting between China and the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
AdvertisementBesides being the ASEAN chair this year, Singapore is the country coordinator of ASEAN-China dialogue relations.
China has overlapping territorial and maritime claims in the South China Sea with several ASEAN members, including Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
Negotiations on the code of conduct began in March, and both sides arrived at the first draft during talks held two months ago at China’s Changsha city, said Dr Balakrishnan.
Calling it “yet another milestone”, the minister said the single draft negotiating text will be a “living document and the basis of future code of conduct negotiations”. Both sides also agreed on the key modalities for future rounds of negotiations.
AdvertisementAdvertisementDr Balakrishnan, who is the co-chair of Thursday’s meeting, said ASEAN-China cooperation have “had a good run” over the past three years.
Relations have been underpinned by robust economic linkages, he said.
China has been ASEAN’s top trading partner for eight consecutive years, while the regional grouping’s free trade agreement (FTA) with China was upgraded in 2015.
Both sides have a joint target of US$1 trillion in trade and US$150 billion in investment by 2020.
Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan speaking at the event on Thursday (Jul 2). (Photo credit: ASEAN2018 Organising Committee)
ASEAN and China have also renewed their commitment to expedite negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), as part of efforts to promote economic integration and trade liberalisation.
There was also close cooperation in other areas, including anti-corruption, connectivity, education, human resource development, science and technology.
However, Dr Balakrishnan said such “strong and substantive cooperation is only possible with mutual trust and confidence”.
“Where there are disagreements from time to time, the key is to seek out common ground, focus on practical cooperation and resolve differences peacefully and in the spirit of goodwill,” he said.
These include efforts by the ASEAN member states and China to work towards a full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties (DOC) in the South China Sea, as well as an early conclusion of an effective code of conduct.
The DOC was inked in 2002, calling for disputes to be managed by peaceful means and in accordance with international law, but ASEAN and China have been seeking to make progress on that declaration with a code of conduct.
In 2016, both sides also adopted a code for unplanned encounters in the South China Sea, followed by the operationalisation of an emergency hotline for maritime emergencies in the vital waterway in 2017.
“China is one of ASEAN’s most substantive dialogue partners,” said Dr Balakrishnan. “All in all, ASEAN-China cooperation has enjoyed a very good run over the last three years but there is much more to be done.”
For instance, officials on Thursday will endorse a statement for a vision that outlines the broad and strategic overview of cooperation between ASEAN and China until 2030.
“We look forward to the leaders adopting this statement at the 21st ASEAN-China Summit in November 2018,” the minister said.
Singapore will hand over the coordinatorship to the Philippines after Thursday’s meeting, which is held as part of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) and related meetings underway at the Singapore Expo this week.
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This was announced by Singapore’s Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan on Thursday (Aug 2) at the start of an annual ministerial meeting between China and the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
AdvertisementBesides being the ASEAN chair this year, Singapore is the country coordinator of ASEAN-China dialogue relations.
China has overlapping territorial and maritime claims in the South China Sea with several ASEAN members, including Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
Negotiations on the code of conduct began in March, and both sides arrived at the first draft during talks held two months ago at China’s Changsha city, said Dr Balakrishnan.
Calling it “yet another milestone”, the minister said the single draft negotiating text will be a “living document and the basis of future code of conduct negotiations”. Both sides also agreed on the key modalities for future rounds of negotiations.
AdvertisementAdvertisementDr Balakrishnan, who is the co-chair of Thursday’s meeting, said ASEAN-China cooperation have “had a good run” over the past three years.
Relations have been underpinned by robust economic linkages, he said.
China has been ASEAN’s top trading partner for eight consecutive years, while the regional grouping’s free trade agreement (FTA) with China was upgraded in 2015.
Both sides have a joint target of US$1 trillion in trade and US$150 billion in investment by 2020.
ASEAN and China have also renewed their commitment to expedite negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), as part of efforts to promote economic integration and trade liberalisation.
There was also close cooperation in other areas, including anti-corruption, connectivity, education, human resource development, science and technology.
However, Dr Balakrishnan said such “strong and substantive cooperation is only possible with mutual trust and confidence”.
“Where there are disagreements from time to time, the key is to seek out common ground, focus on practical cooperation and resolve differences peacefully and in the spirit of goodwill,” he said.
These include efforts by the ASEAN member states and China to work towards a full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties (DOC) in the South China Sea, as well as an early conclusion of an effective code of conduct.
The DOC was inked in 2002, calling for disputes to be managed by peaceful means and in accordance with international law, but ASEAN and China have been seeking to make progress on that declaration with a code of conduct.
In 2016, both sides also adopted a code for unplanned encounters in the South China Sea, followed by the operationalisation of an emergency hotline for maritime emergencies in the vital waterway in 2017.
“China is one of ASEAN’s most substantive dialogue partners,” said Dr Balakrishnan. “All in all, ASEAN-China cooperation has enjoyed a very good run over the last three years but there is much more to be done.”
For instance, officials on Thursday will endorse a statement for a vision that outlines the broad and strategic overview of cooperation between ASEAN and China until 2030.
“We look forward to the leaders adopting this statement at the 21st ASEAN-China Summit in November 2018,” the minister said.
Singapore will hand over the coordinatorship to the Philippines after Thursday’s meeting, which is held as part of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) and related meetings underway at the Singapore Expo this week.
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