ASEAN, China talk DOC implementation, draft COC framework

ASEAN member countries and China have reiterated the commitment reached by their high-ranking leaders to fully and effectively effectuating the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC).

They talked the issue at the 14th ASEAN-China Senior Officials’ Meeting on the Implementation of the DOC in Guiyang city, China’s Guizhou province on May 18.

The meeting was co-chaired by Permanent Secretary of Singapore’s Foreign Ministry Chee Wee Kiong and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin.

The officials reviewed the implementation of measures to build trust and boost preventive diplomacy at sea, saying the operation of hotlines between foreign ministries of ASEAN countries and China to manage maritime emergencies, and the application of the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES) in the East Sea have contributed to maintaining peace, stability, maritime and aviation security and safety in the East Sea.

Regarding the formation of a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC), participants acknowledged the performance of the DOC/COC working group on a draft COC framework.

They agreed to submit the document to the ASEAN Post Minister Conference Plus One (PMC 1) next August for approval.

The participating countries affirmed that they will continue with dialogues and consultations to promote the DOC/COC process, for peace and stability in the region in general and the East Sea in particular.

Addressing the event, Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung, who is head of SOM ASEAN Vietnam, called on the parties to exercise self-restraint, not to use force or threaten to use force and peacefully settle disputes in line with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), thus contributing to peace and stability in the East Sea.-VNA