(VOVWORLD) - ASEAN and China have agreed on guidelines to accelerate negotiations for the Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea (called the East Sea in Vietnam).
Director of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, Wang Yi, in Jakarta, July 13, 2023. (Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia)
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The Guidelines were adopted during a meeting between ASEAN Foreign Ministers and China’s top diplomat Wang Yi, in Jakarta on Thursday.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi stated that this year marks important milestones in ASEAN-China relationship, including the completion of Guidelines to accelerate effective and substantive COC negotiations.
Both sides must work hard to strengthen their partnership and China must be a reliable partner for ASEAN in nurturing an open and inclusive regional architecture, she said.
China has been an important partner of ASEAN in maintaining peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region for over three decades, Retno said.
China is ASEAN's largest trading partner with two-trade reaching more than 970 billion USD last year.