ASEAN commits to reach agreement with China over disputed territory

At their annual retreat on Saturday (February 4) in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, the foreign ministers of Southeast Asia agreed to conclude discussions with China about a proposed agreement aimed at averting conflictsin the disputed South China Sea.In the concluding session of their two-day meeting, the ASEAN ministers also decided to coordinate their efforts to put into effect a five-point agreement that Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the head of the military in Myanmar, and ASEAN leaders signed in 2021 to stop the country's escalating conflict.

A "code of conduct", a collection of regional conventions and regulations aimed at averting conflict, has been the subject of intermittent discussions between China and the ASEAN member nations for years. These governments include four opposing claimants to territory in the South China Sea.

The proposed deal is the subject of ongoing negotiations, the first of which will take place in March, according to Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi. As this year's ASEAN chair, Indonesia is prepared to host further rounds of these talks. She stated that the ASEAN participants are dedicated to wrapping up the talks "as soon as possible."

“Members are also committed to promote the implementation of a declaration of conduct,” Marsudi added.

Marsudi did not go into any detail, but China has already charged Washington of interfering in what it refers to be an Asian crisis. To encourage the freedom of overflight and navigation, the U.S. has sent ships and planes out to sea. It has frequently expressed concern about China's provocative activities, such as the building of islands on which it has stationed armaments such as surface-to-air missiles.

The ASEAN member nations will advance discussions this year and consider new strategies, Sidharto Suryodipuro, director of ASEAN Cooperation at the Indonesian Foreign Ministry, told reporters in Jakarta.

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“All of us agreed that it has to be an effective implementable in accordance with international law, and the code of conduct must fulfill this criteria,” Suryodipuro said. “It’s an exploratory stage. We don’t know what shape it will take, but as you know negotiation is a key process that is something we intend to intensify.”

(With inputs from agencies)

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