Two-day seminar hopes to ensure 'peace and stability' in South China Sea

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Senior diplomats and maritime experts from China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are to convene in Manila this week to discuss ways to enhance practical cooperation in the South China Sea, Philippine foreign department said on Monday.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement that it will hold a seminar on Tuesday and Wednesday on the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of the Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) that China and ASEAN inked in 2002.

It said the two-day seminar hopes "to build on the gains that have been achieved so far in efforts to build peace and stability in the South China Sea."

"The seminar seeks to build on what we have achieved so far in our efforts to build trust and confidence among the parties involved in the South China Sea issue," Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) shakes hands with Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano (L) during the Gala Dinner of ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting and related meetings in Manila, August 6, 2017. /AFP Photo

"The seminar also seeks to boost regional efforts to ensure peace and stability in the South China Sea to help prevent maritime accidents and to preserve and protect the marine environment and promote sustainable fisheries," Cayetano said.

The DFA said senior diplomats, policy-makers and maritime cooperation scholars from the 10 ASEAN member states and China, as well as representatives from think tanks and academies, will exchange views on how to further enhance practical cooperation between ASEAN and China in the South China Sea.

Foreign ministers from ASEAN and China approved the framework of Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, which was agreed on May 18, at a meeting held in Manila on August 6.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency