The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) wants to push forward the official consultation process in order to early achieve a Code of Conduct on the East Sea (COC), said Thailand’s acting Foreign Minister Sihasak Phungketkeow.

The Thai acting FM made the remark at a joint press conference after he and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi co-chaired the ASEAN-China meeting in the framework of the 47th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM-47) in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, on August 9.

The ministers want to push for the full implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties on the East Sea (DOC) while further accelerating the official consultation process in order to early achieve the COC, he said.

The next round of talks on the COC is slated to take place in Thailand in October, he said, adding that ASEAN hopes to achieve progress in the discussions on the draft COC, first of all the measures that can be deployed in the medium term in order to promote trust building and enhance cooperation.

On his part, FM Wang Yi said Beijing is ready to discuss ways to conduct dialogue and cooperation with coastal countries in the East Sea to jointly maintain peace, stability and development in the East Sea.

The sides have agreed to hold a special ASEAN-China Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) in China in September and the 8th SOM and the 12th joint working group meeting on DOC implementation in Thailand in October, Wang said.-VNA