TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko Widodo or Jokowi met with Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong at Hanoi Presidential Palace on Friday, Jan. 12. Jokowi and Thuong discussed several issues including the South China Sea and bilateral partnership in fisheries.

Indonesia and Vietnam strengthen the partnership through corporate investment and more trade.

“It is important to maintain peace and stability at the South China Sea,” said Thuong in a statement after meeting Jokowi as quoted from Reuters.

A Vietnamese official has previously mentioned that this issue would be discussed during Jokowi’s visit to Hanoi. Previously, Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi said that Indonesia is ready to cooperate with all countries in ASEAN including the Philippines to finalize drafting the Code of Conduct of the South China Sea – a strategic waterway for trade and energy, which has been long overdue.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China have for years been trying to create a framework to negotiate a code of conduct, a plan dating as far back as 2002. But progress has been slow despite commitments by all parties to advance and expedite the process

Indonesia and Vietnam agreed in 2022 to recognize the boundaries of their Exclusive Economic Zone in the South China Sea, a move seen as a challenge to Beijing, which claims almost the entire strategic trade route.

The Indonesian Government stated its plan to export gas to Vietnam from gas fields in the South China Sea. "We're ready to cooperate in energy transition," said Jokowi in a statement with Thuong.

Both countries also signed a memorandum of understanding in fisheries partnership. This text is not open to the public but may discuss encroachment by Vietnamese fishermen in other countries' waters, which is often a source of tension in the region.

The Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Sakti Wahyu Trenggono, said one of the points in the cooperation includes the development of lobster cultivation in Indonesia. He believes that the partnership has the potential to make both countries the aces in the fisheries sector in the region.

"I'm optimistic that Indonesia in the future will be able to be an important part of the global lobster product supply chain," Sakti said on X on Friday, Jan.12, 2024.

DANIEL A. FAJRI | REUTERS

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