ASEAN prioritizes accelerating the process of establishing COC in the East Sea

Kyodo reported that Secretary General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Le Luong Minh recently said that the association is ready to further accelerate the process of establishing a legally binding Code of Conduct (COC) with China in the East Sea.

ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh. (Photo: VNA)

Last year, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi proposed speeding up consultations on the COC, including developing a framework for the COC by mid-2017.

While stressing that the 10-member group welcomed Wang Yi's proposal, Secretary-General Le Luong Minh told Kyodo news agency in a recent interview that "ASEAN and China have agreed to intensify consultations on the COC to meet the deadline."

In addition, he said, "ASEAN is even more willing to accelerate the COC process by submitting specific contents of the code," and confirmed that three meetings of the joint working group on the COC were scheduled to be held in the first half of 2017.

According to Mr. Le Luong Minh, "we look forward to concluding a COC that is comprehensive and legally binding in guiding the conduct and behavior of parties in the East Sea ... (to) help create a suitable environment for the comprehensive and lasting settlement of disputes."

In addition, he stressed that ASEAN remains deeply concerned about recent and ongoing developments in the East Sea, including land reclamation and increased activities in the area that have destroyed trust between parties, increased tensions and could undermine peace, security and stability in the region.

That is why ASEAN continues to firmly and actively engage with China in an effort to maintain and promote peace and stability in the East Sea, he pointed out.

According to Vietnamplus