TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - In Indonesia's current ASEAN Chairmanship in 2023, Indonesia's initiative to accelerate the process of negotiating a code of conduct (COC) in the South China Sea was successfully agreed upon by all ASEAN countries and China (01/09).

This was stated by Director for ASEAN Political and Security Cooperation, Rolliansyah Soemirat, Friday (1/9/2023) in Jakarta.

"In addition to accelerating negotiations, Indonesia's initiative in the form of Guidelines can serve as practical guidelines that also contains substantive material to keep the COC effective and actionable," Rolliansyah said.

The guidelines, the first in history, summarize ASEAN-China's aspirations to complete the COC in 3 years or less, through intensive discussion of pending issues and other proposed working methods to make negotiations faster and more effective.

"Given the complexity of the elements in the COC, the parties involved have been very careful so a breakthrough is needed to accelerate the process," Rolliansyah continued.

The COC is expected to be a code of conduct that reflects international norms, principles and rules that are in line with and refer to international law, especially UNCLOS with the aim of achieving a stable, safe and peaceful South China Sea.

Indonesia continues to support confidence building measures (CBM) and reducing tensions to support prosperity in the region, as well as continue to ensure ASEAN's centrality in South China Sea issues.

During Indonesia's Chairmanship in ASEAN, the COC negotiations have successfully completed the second reading or discussions on the second round of negotiations. This shows positive developments that are expected to continue to be a momentum for accelerating the agreement on the code of ethics.

Indonesia hosted COC negotiations between ASEAN and China in March. At the end of 2023, Indonesia plans to host the next round of COC negotiations to contribute to the acceleration of the ongoing process.

In addition to COC negotiations, Indonesia will continue to push for increased practical maritime cooperation between ASEAN and China for the South China Sea region that can increase mutual trust, in order to support and maintain peace, security and stability in the region.

TEMPO.CO | Ministry of Foreign Affairs

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