RI Urges Maintaining Stability over South China Sea Dispute

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian government keeps trying to encourage all sides to maintain and prioritize stability and peace in responding to the United Nations` international arbitration tribunals ruling on the South China Sea dispute, a Foreign Ministry official said.

"To be sure, Indonesia will always make every effort to maintain the issue of the South China Sea, particularly how to maintain a peaceful, stable and conducive situation in the region," the Director of Inter-Regional Dialog Partners of the ASEAN Cooperation Directorate at the Foreign Ministry Derry Aman said on Thursday.

Responding to polemic on the South China Sea dispute, Derry said Indonesia will always stick to its stand and encourage all sides to refrain from taking action that may disrupt stability in the Southeast Asian region.

"We ask each side to exercise self-restraint, which will serve as the basis for Indonesia to hold dialogs with all sides concerned," he stated.

He stressed that the Indonesian government will always try to not get involved in the maritime dispute while at the same time urged all sides to create a conducive situation in the South China Sea.

Derry also noted that the governments of ASEAN member states have not planned any meeting yet to discuss ASEANs stand on the United Nations arbitration tribunals ruling on the South China Sea dispute.

In fact, ASEAN foreign ministers have not included the issue in their 49th meeting scheduled for July 23 to 26 in Vientiane, Laos, he said.

"We have not been informed of a side meeting (to be held on the sidelines of the ASEAN foreign ministers meeting) to discuss the South China Sea," he said.

The Hague-based tribunal has decided to reject Chinas claim over its rights in the South China Sea and supports the case brought about by the Philippines before the tribunal.

The South China Sea has been partly or wholly claimed by China, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam and Vietnam.

ANTARA