LANGKAWI: ASEAN Foreign Ministers welcomed the progress made in the negotiations on the Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea and emphasised the importance of sustaining momentum to expedite the process.
The ministers underscored the need to conclude an effective and substantive COC at the earliest opportunity, in line with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982.
“We stressed that the South China Sea must remain peaceful and stable,“ Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan told a press conference after the conclusion of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ (AMM) Retreat here on Sunday.
Asked whether the COC could be adopted by the time Malaysia’s chairmanship of ASEAN ends this year, Mohamad said: “We are in the process of negotiations in regards to the COC.”
“We are trying our very best to ensure that the negotiations on the COC are on our schedule, proceed according to schedule,” he said.
On efforts to combat online scams, Mohamad said that China, as a partner country, will work together with the regional bloc to help address transborder crimes.
“We will work closely with China,“ he added.
When asked on the phone call between United States President-elect Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping of China on Friday, Mohamad described it as “good news for them to talk”.
Mohamad also congratulated Trump on his inauguration and return to office on Monday.
“We hope that under his stewardship, the world will become more stable and peaceful,“ he said.
Mohamad also said that ASEAN foreign ministers expressed concern over major power rivalry in the region that may resurge, increase tensions and have spillover effects in the region.
“ASEAN agreed on the importance of safeguarding the region’s interests collectively, and that ASEAN centrality, unity and solidarity must be reinforced.
“We also underscored that ASEAN must remain in the driver’s seat of the regional architecture; to continue to determine the direction and future of the region and our community,” he said.
