At a meeting in July (Photo: Xinhua) Jakarta (VNA) – The ASEAN member states and China have agreed with the initiative of Indonesia - the current rotating chair of ASEAN, to expedite negotiations on the Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).
Director of ASEAN Political-Security Cooperation at the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Rolliansyah Soemirat made this announcement on September 1, highlighting that Indonesia's initiative in the form of Guidelines can serve as practical guidelines that also contains substantive material to keep the COC effective and actionable.
According to him, these are the first-ever guidelines to accelerate COC talks, aiming to fulfill the aspirations of ASEAN and China to complete the COC within a maximum of 3 years.
In March, Indonesia hosted COC talks between ASEAN and China and is planning to hold the next round later this year, aiming to advance the process towards the completion of the COC.
In addition to COC negotiations, Indonesia will continue encouraging practical maritime cooperation between ASEAN and China in the East Sea. This effort is aimed at enhancing mutual trust, supporting peace, security and stability in the region./.
