ASEAN and Chinese senior officials reviewed the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and discussed the building of a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) during their 12th meeting in the northern province of Quang Ninh on June 9.
Deputy Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung led the Vietnamese delegation to the event, which was co-chaired by China and Singapore, which coordinates the relations between ASEAN and China
The ASEAN member countries expressed concern over the recent developments in the East Sea while laying an emphasis on the importance of the sea and the international community’s interest in the recent situation there.
The ASEAN member states and China reaffirmed the significance of fully and effectively realising the DOC to foster trust and practical cooperation, contributing to maintaining peace, stability, maritime and aviation security and safety.
In committing to doing so, they particularly stressed the full and efficient implementation of Article 4 on peaceful settlement of disputes, Article 5 on self-restraint, Article 6 on cooperation promotion, and Article 10 on COC building, of the DOC.
Participants discussed the nature of the COC as well as approaches to designing it for the first time.
They agreed to draft guidelines on launching a hotline on response to urgent contingencies at sea for ASEAN and Chinese senior officials, as well as complete the formulation of the ASEAN-China Joint Statement on the Implementation of the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea, considering them concrete outcomes ahead of the commemorative summit for the 25 th anniversary of ASEAN-China relations in September in Laos.
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