Senior officials of ASEAN and China at the 15th meeting on DOC implementation

Delegates affirmed the importance of full compliance with this document to maintain peace and stability in the East Sea. Underscored was the need for trust building measures during DOC implementation, in the field and in cooperative activities, to create a favourable environment for negotiations on a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).  Participants discussed COC negotiations and what should be reported to the ASEAN-China Post Ministerial Conference in Singapore in August.

The head of the Vietnamese delegation, Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung, stressed the vital importance of DOC implementation to peace, stability, and security in the region. He voiced concern about island reclamation and military equipment installation and testing on disputed structures in the East Sea, noting that these activities run counter to the DOC’s principles and will adversely affect the COC negotiations. Dung called all parties to exercise restraint, refrain from actions that could complicate the situation, and create a favorable environment for the COC negotiations.

He said the COC needs to be enforceable and legally binding if it is to regulate behavior in the East Sea. It must also accord with international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Dung added.

ASEAN and China have agreed to hold the next meeting of the ASEAN-China Joint Working Group on the DOC in Siem Reap, Cambodia, in early September.