China and ASEAN reach ‘milestone’ Code of Conduct on South China Sea
Updated 14:24, 07-Aug-2018
World Insight
["china"]
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi is in Singapore attending a series of meetings with ASEAN Foreign Ministers from Thursday to Saturday, with one of the meetings ended on a high note - a single draft negotiating text of the Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea.
The agreement on the “Single Draft COC Negotiating Text” was announced at the China-ASEAN 10+1 Ministerial Meeting on Thursday, after being nailed down at a China-ASEAN meeting in the central Chinese city of Changsha in June.
Lim Tai Wei, Adjunct Research fellow at the National University of Singapore, praised the draft deal as a 'milestone' during an interview with CGTN's World Insight with Tian Wei.
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"The Single Draft consolidates all the points from previous drafts into a single document. That’s why it’s seen as a milestone in the negotiation between ASEAN and China over the South China Sea. The COC single draft will become the foundation from which future negotiations will take place. It is the single most important thing for them to have a platform to start those negotiations," said Mr. Lim.
2018 marks the 15th anniversary of the ASEAN-China strategic partnership. The two sides will adopt ASEAN-China Strategic Partnership Vision 2030 at the ASEAN-China Summit in Singapore in November. They have also agreed to hold a joint maritime exercise in October, which will enhance confidence and trust among the ASEAN and Chinese navies.
"Now there are also other concrete measures that have been laid out as well. For example, the ASEAN countries and China have tested the emergency hotlines between them related to the South China Sea. These are concrete things that contribute to the single draft," Mr. Lim added.
The announcement of the draft came as China and the US remain locked in a trade war. China is a strong defender of free trade and multilateralism. This has also been the foundation of the Southeast Asian bloc's integration. Mr. Lim said ASEAN will continue its strategy of centrality.
“ASEAN is trying to outreach to everyone, known as the ASEAN Centrality. In that sense, ASEAN is trying to maintain peace, prosperity by working with all the parties concerned, traditional partners, emerging powers and other middle powers in the region as well,” said Mr. Lim.