China and ASEAN leaders meet in Indonesia, agree to South China Sea guidelines

[News_Editor]

China and ASEAN leaders meet in Indonesia, agree to South China Sea guidelines

2011-07-20 23:43:13 GMT+7 (ICT)

BALI, INDONESIA (BNO NEWS) -- Senior officials from China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agreed on Wednesday to the guidelines regarding the code of conduct on the disputed South China Sea.

The meeting was held in Bali, Indonesia, where the officials aimed at implementing the 2002 Declaration of the Conduct in the South China Sea (DOC) in order to maintain peace and stability in the area.

"This is a significant and good start for us to work together to continue dialogue and cooperation with a view to further promote this stability and confidence in the region," Pham Quang Vinh, Assistant to Viet Nam Foreign Minister, stated after the meeting.

Meanwhile, China's Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin said the officials would submit what they had approved to their Ministers for final endorsement. "This is an important milestone document on the cooperation among China and ASEAN countries. And we have a bright future and we are looking forward to future cooperation," he said.

The DOC Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea was signed on November 4, 2002, during the Eighth ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia by leaders of ASEAN and China in order to establish a code of conduct in the South China Sea, which has been disputed by China, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

Even though the implementation of the DOC is still in its early stages, it is a positive step into bringing peace and stability in the area, which has been the goal of all participant nations.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono urged the necessity of the group to send a strong worldwide signal "that the future of the South China Sea is a predictable, manageable and optimistic one."

"We need to finalize those long overdue guidelines," Yudhoyono stated, adding that the group needs "to get moving to the next phase, which is identifying the elements of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea."

The group will meet again at an unconfirmed date in China to further advance talks

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