NicoleDFriedley
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said Beijing wants to cooperate with ASEAN countries for long-term peace and stability in the South China Sea.
"We are ready to cooperate with ASEAN, with the consensus reached, in order to maintain long-term peace and stability in the South China Sea according to the process established in three years," Li said today at the Association. ASEAN 35 Summit in Bangkok, Thailand, refers to the deadline for countries to set the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC).
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (middle) shakes hands with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (left) and his Thai counterpart Prayut Chan-ocha at the 35th ASEAN Summit in Bangkok, Thailand today. Photo: Reuters
Mr. Lee praised the completion of the first review of the draft COC earlier this year as a milestone in the effort to issue a system to help manage and resolve disputes in the South China Sea, strategic sea routes and is one of the busiest routes in the world. The Chinese Prime Minister expressed his hope to make a "new progress" in the negotiations with ASEAN on the COC, adding that Beijing is committed to maintaining "political mutual trust" and that all "support". stability in the area ".
A legally binding code of conduct in the South China Sea has long been the goal of ASEAN countries, to deal with acts of disrespect for China's sovereignty.
China and ASEAN countries signed the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in 2002 and started COC negotiations since 2013. By August 2017, the parties approved the COC framework agreement, the The lawsuit is considered as the first step for the COC negotiation process to be effective and legally binding, helping to prevent escalating disputes in the South China Sea.
In July, at the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting in Thailand, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi declared that the "certain" COC would reach a consensus by the next three years, after ASEAN and China completed the round of review. First control of the draft COC.
Speaking at the plenary session of the ASEAN Summit yesterday, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc also mentioned "serious incidents of international law violations in regional waters and Vietnam" in recent years. According to the Prime Minister, maintaining international law is a prerequisite for peace and stability in the South China Sea, and affirmed that Vietnam is determined to protect international law in international relations in general and in the East Sea issue in particular.
