First reading of negotiation text on South China Sea completed ahead of time

By The Nation

 

Thai Minister of Foreign Affairs Don Pramudwinai (L) shakes hands with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi (R) during the ASEAN - China Ministerial Meeting at the 52nd ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, 31 July 2019. Thailand host the 52nd ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting and Related Meeting from 29 July to 03 August 2019. EPA-EFE/RUNGROJ YONGRIT

 

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday that the first reading of negotiations text on the code of conduct (COC) in the contentious South China Sea has finished well ahead of schedule set at the end of the year. 

 

Wang Yi is in Bangkok for a series of meetings with his counterparts from Asean and its partners. He also met Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai, who chaired the Asean ministerial meeting. 

 

China has been at loggerheads for a long time with many Asean members, notably the Philippines and Vietnam, over territorial disputes in the South China Sea. 

 

Though all sides signed a non-legally binding Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in 2002, it failed to ease tensions as the signatories began reclaiming islands, rocks and shoals in the contentious area. Facilities such as airfields built on reclaimed land also raised concerns in the international community about militarisation in the area. 

 

China and Asean kicked off negotiations on the Single Draft Negotiating Text of the COC last year, and set the deadline for finishing the first of three readings as the end of this year. 

 

At the China-Asean foreign ministers’ meeting at a Bangkok hotel on Wednesday, Wang noted that in the past year, China and Asean countries, in the spirit of the DOC, explored options of rule-based governance of the South China Sea, actively advancing consultations on COC and completing the first reading of the negotiating text ahead of schedule. 

 

He added that after the first reading, the text is streamlined so the framework and essential elements of the text have become clearer and more reasonable. “It marks new, major progress in the COC consultations and an important step towards the goal of concluding consultations within three years,” Wang was quoted as saying by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency. 

 

He also said that the first reading was completed early thanks to the “sincerity and resolve of all parties in the consultation. 

 

“This cherishable achievement gives us more time for the following readings, boosts our confidence and demonstrates the conviction of regional countries to jointly set rules in the region and safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea together,” he said. “As COC consultations continue, I believe we will make more progress and have more outcomes to share with you.”

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30373995

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2019-08-01

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2 hours ago, webfact said:

China has been at loggerheads for a long time with many Asean members, notably the Philippines and Vietnam, over territorial disputes in the South China Sea. 

And thank gawd for that.

If you all do as China want there will be no problems......LOL

And China can make all the agreements they want but will still turn tail as everything they say is an outright lie. You trusting China is like trusting a Great White shark that is hungry not to eat you.

Binding, non-binding. Makes no difference to China. Another hollow 'feel-good'.

 

As always, this is just more misdirection and subterfuge from China. What it says and what it does are, and will always be, unrelated.

South China Sea is a time bomb ticking away .  Only have to ask yourself , why is China building new islands that accommodate air strips & military personnel ? is it purely to control the area  or marine / island acquisition ?   So a new treaty to take over the failed 2002 treaty .     How can the likes of the Philippines / Vietnam argue with China  ?  unless Trump gets involved at some stage as an ally to the minnows .   

The focus on the  South China Sea is a distraction from the quiet global scramble to establish territorial rights on oceanic continental plates and rights to any "assets". Under the  emerging  rules of this new game I am wondering if China has legitimacy.

Maybe because its called the China sea,they think

they have the right to own it ALL,which is what

they are aiming to do,trust the Chinese even less

than the Russian's.

regards Worgeordie

Sure, sure..

 

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1989036/international-community-reacts-south-china-sea-ruling-hague

 

Quote

An international tribunal has found that China violated the Philippines’ sovereign rights in the South China Sea.

 

Cue in the party trolling troops, 'Philippines has always belogned to China', etc.

Well I suppose it didn't take long to read: " It is called The South China Sea, we are called China, therefore it is ours. If you have a problem with that, remember that we are bigger than you."

1 hour ago, JAG said:

Well I suppose it didn't take long to read: " It is called The South China Sea, we are called China, therefore it is ours. If you have a problem with that, remember that we are bigger than you."

They must own all my crockery also.