ASEAN and China reach agreement on “single text” for COC negotiations
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China have reached an agreement on a "single text" to negotiate a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC).
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This is seen as an important step towards narrowing the differences between the parties.
Speaking at the ASEAN-China Ministerial Meeting on the sidelines of the 51st ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting (AMM 51) held in Singapore on August 2, Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan declared this an "important milestone" in the COC process, since the ASEAN-China Senior Officials' Meeting on the Implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) held in China in June 2018.
According to Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, this will be the basic document for future COC negotiations and the two sides have also agreed on the main methods for COC negotiations in the coming time.
Singapore was the coordinator for the ASEAN-China dialogue relations from 2015-2018 and will officially hand over this responsibility to the Philippines after this conference.The COC negotiations have been going on for more than a decade, with many difficulties in terms and speed of negotiations. However, in recent years there have been clear signs of ASEAN's unified stance on the South China Sea issue.
Last August, Chinese and ASEAN foreign ministers approved a draft negotiating framework for the COC, a move seen as progress in resolving tensions in the South China Sea.
In March this year, a joint working group was established to implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea. Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in April 2018 that the negotiations on the COC would not be easy, but he stressed that the countries involved in the negotiations needed to be constructive in order to prevent tensions from escalating.Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said China is one of ASEAN's key dialogue partners and both sides have achieved much in the past three years, with cooperation underpinned by strong economic ties.
However, he also stressed that cooperation between the parties can only be based on the foundation of mutual trust, resolving differences peacefully and in a spirit of goodwill.