Asean, China negotiations cross key milestone
Attempts to reduce tension in the contested South China Sea reached a milestone on Wednesday when Beijing revealed that Asean and China had completed the first reading of the single draft negotiating text for a code of conduct (COC).
“This represents a new and important progress in the COC consultations and marks a critical step towards the goal of completing the consultations within three years’ time,” China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his counterparts from Asean, who have gathered this week in Bangkok for the bloc’s annual foreign ministers’ meeting and related dialogues with partners like China.
Based on this common text - which has so far been kept under wraps - the countries now expected to further narrow down differences in positions.
In a press conference later on Wednesday, Wang expressed support for Asean’s recently drafted vision of the Indo-Pacific region - a non-binding document issued in June to articulate Asean’s own perspective on regional cooperation amid the big-power rivalry in its backyard.
It emphasises an inclusive and “rules-based framework” to “help to generate momentum for building strategic trust and win-win cooperation in the region”.
Wang told reporters: “Many of the principles and ideas that are contained in this (Asean) outlook are consistent with China’s views - for example, a commitment to Asean centrality, staying open, inclusive and transparent.” He said Beijing was ready to work closely with Asean to “actively guide and promote our cooperation” for growth.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a strategic waterway which is also claimed in parts by Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei, as well as Taiwan.
Beijing has resisted subjecting its territorial claims to international tribunals and instead reclaimed and installed military facilities on disputed islands. It chafes at the US navy’s “freedom of navigation” naval operations in these waters, which it regards as external interference.
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