NIKKEI ASIA COC ESL- MARCQUELEEH Nikkei ASIA- Politic News ESL WEEKLY MAR2023

China and Asean to meet

next week to discuss code of
conduct on South China Sea

China and four Asean states have overlapping claims over the South China Sea, an issue that
has remained unresolved for decades. PHOTO: AFP

JAKARTA - Officials from Asean member states and China will continue negotiations on
a code of conduct (COC) for the South China Sea next week in Jakarta.
The meeting, organised by Indonesia, will be held from March 8 to 10, and China will
send delegates led by a deputy director-general-level official in charge of maritime
affairs, said a diplomat who declined to be named as he is not authorised to speak to
the media.
China and four Asean states – Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam – have
overlapping claims over the strategic waterway, an issue which has remained
unresolved for decades.

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NIKKEI ASIA COC ESL- MARCQUELEEH Nikkei ASIA- Politic News ESL WEEKLY MAR2023

As the rotating chair of Asean in 2023, Indonesia has previously said it will hold new
rounds of negotiations with member states and China.
The official name of the meeting will be “Meeting of the China-Asean Joint Working
Group on the Implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South
China Sea (JWG-DOC)“, according to the diplomat.
As Asean chair in 2023 and the region’s largest economy, Indonesia hopes to use its
influence to push for COC negotiations and explore new approaches to expedite a
successful outcome, said observers.

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NIKKEI ASIA COC ESL- MARCQUELEEH Nikkei ASIA- Politic News ESL WEEKLY MAR2023

The Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry confirmed that the meeting on the COC for the
South China Sea will start next week.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah told The Straits Times that delegates
from Asean countries and China will attend the meeting, without elaborating.
ST understands that a number of working group meetings and senior official meetings to
negotiate the COC are expected to take place in 2023.
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, during his two-day visit to Jakarta in
February, vowed that Beijing will work with South-east Asia to “jointly safeguard peace
and stability in the South China Sea”, amid rising tensions in the disputed waters.
At a joint press conference with his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi on Feb 22,
Mr Qin said China, Indonesia and the littoral states to the South China Sea will work
with other Asean countries “to fully and effectively implement” the Declaration on the
Conduct of Parties, which calls for a peaceful resolution of disputes in the South China
Sea, and speed up consultations on a code of conduct governing it.
Ms Retno told Mr Qin that as Asean chair, Indonesia and Asean are determined to make
South-east Asia a peaceful and stable region, as well as a centre of economic growth,
reiterating Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s remarks to the region’s foreign ministers
in early February that “Asean should not become a proxy for any power”.
Mr Qin expressed support for Asean’s strategic independence, centrality and an
inclusive regional architecture. He also noted that a “new Cold War or major country
rivalry” should not take place in the Asia-Pacific, and “regional countries should not be
forced to pick sides”

QOD:

1. Is China violating the law of the sea?

2 .What is the goal of COC?

3. What does your awareness of your country role in the gold of COC?

Cheers.

YOUR WORD

INTERMED-LEVEL 3 MARCQUE LEEH