ASEAN, China to proceed to next phase of talks on code of conduct

TOKYO/KUALA LUMPUR — The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China have agreed to proceed to the next phase of negotiations towards the establishment of a code of conduct for the overlapping claims in the South China Sea, said Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman yesterday.

“This is an important progress with regard to the code of conduct,” he said when briefing reporters ahead of the 48th ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting in Kuala Lumpur next week.

“While we proceed with the implementation of the declaration of conduct and work expeditiously towards the establishment of the code of conduct, recent developments have raised tension and eroded trust and confidence among parties.”

While the code of conduct is in the works, China and ASEAN have agreed to set up a foreign ministers’ hotline to tackle emergencies in the disputed waters, a senior official from ASEAN told Reuters yesterday. The hotline will be the first involving China, although the Philippines and Vietnam have had a naval hotline since last year to monitor the disputed waters.

The foreign ministers’ meeting marks the start of a series of annual meetings culminating with Thursday’s ASEAN Regional Forum, one of the biggest security forums in the Asia-Pacific, which will be attended by the United States, China, Japan, South Korea and the European Union among others. The situation in the South China Sea is expected to feature prominently on the agenda.

A draft communique set to be adopted by the ministers next week expressed concern about the slow pace of negotiations for the code of conduct, Kyodo News reported yesterday.

In the draft Joint Communique seen by Kyodo, the ASEAN ministers voiced their concern over “recent developments” in the South China Sea, which they said could “undermine peace, security and stability” in the area. “We agreed that there is an imperative need to urgently address the erosion of trust and corrosion of confidence among parties on these matters,” they said. “In this regard, we urged our senior officials to intensify their efforts towards the expeditious establishment of an effective code of conduct,” they added.

China claims most of the potentially energy-rich sea, through which US$5 trillion (S$6.8 trillion) in ship-borne trade passes every year, and rejects the rival claims of Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan.

The US has called on the various claimants to settle their differences through talks, and has said its Pacific Fleet aims to protect sea lanes critical to global trade. But China rejects US involvement in the dispute, and on Thursday accused America of militarising the South China Sea.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. AGENCIES