China's Foreign Ministry said on July 23 that senior diplomats from China and ASEAN will meet on July 29 to discuss the Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC), according to Xinhua News Agency.

China illegally built on Hughes Reef, part of Vietnam's Truong Sa archipelago.

Xinhua News Agency quoted Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang on July 23 as saying that Chinese and ASEAN diplomatic officials will meet in Tianjin, China on July 29. China will be represented at the meeting by Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin.

This meeting will revolve around the East Sea issue, the parties will exchange views on the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), signed by ASEAN and China in 2002 in Cambodia.

In addition, Chinese and ASEAN diplomats will also discuss the Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) as well as maritime cooperation between the parties, according to Xinhua.

ASEAN countries want to accelerate the negotiation process to soon pass the COC with China, however many analysts say the prospect of passing the COC still faces many difficulties, in which China always wants to bring the East Sea issue to bilateral solutions.

The upcoming meeting takes place in the context of the East Sea issue heating up at many large and small conferences, as well as the tense situation related to China's illegal reclamation activities.

(According to TNO)