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Negotiations on a code of conduct (COC) for the South China Sea will be intensified this year, Indonesian and Chinese officials said on Wednesday, as the region frets over China’s assertiveness in the strategic waterway.
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi met with Chinese counterpart Qin Gang in Jakarta, ahead of a round of negotiations on the code starting in March.
“Indonesia and Asean would like to produce an effective, substantive and actionable (code of conduct),” Retno said, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a regional bloc that Indonesia chairs this year.
Qin added that China and Asean will jointly safeguard peace and stability in the strategic trade corridor, through which about $3.4 trillion of goods pass each year.
China would work with Asean countries to accelerate consultations on the code, he said.
Beijing claims much of the South China Sea and has built islands from which it is capable of deploying advanced weaponry.
