Asean aims for South China Sea code of conduct framework by middle of year

A joint working group between Asean and China will meet later this month in Bali and again in the Philippines in June to push forward the framework, he said.
Members of Asean, including the Philippines which chairs the group this year, have been at loggerheads with China over territory in the South China Sea for decades. 
Asean foreign ministers gathered Tuesday in the Philippine resort island of Boracay for an informal meeting to wrap up work as well as look ahead at tasks to be completed under the chairmanship of the Philippines.
The territorial dispute with China in the contentious sea has been one of the key topics discussed in the meeting.
“We want to have win-win solutions that benefit all of us and I hope that we can reach a consensus on the framework for the code of conduct by the middle of this year,” Don told reporters after the meeting.
The chairman’s statement issued after the meeting yesterday said a number of ministers had expressed concern over recent developments and the escalation of activities in the area, which might further raise tensions and erode trust and confidence in the region.
At the same time, ministers noted a need to sustain the momentum of dialogue in order to ease tensions in the region, the statement said.
In 2002, the grouping along with China signed the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), but it is a non-binding paper that has failed to prevent activities such as land reclamation and construction of artificial islands in the contentious sea.
However, Asean ministers had underscored the importance of full and effective implementation of the DOC in its entirety, the chairman’s statement said.
Don said Asean ministers anticipated that China would play a crucial role in pushing the negotiation on the code of conduct forward. “The code of conduct is something we are looking for and we need to help each other to make it become true,” he said.
The meeting discussed many issues related to Asean affairs and relations with outsiders as well as the situation in the region and the world, but did not directly touch on the ongoing crisis in Myanmar’s Rakhine state where Muslim Rohingya have been systematically abused, Don said.
Many Asean members, notably Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, are providing humanitarian assistance to Rohingya. “But we have to give time and space to Myanmar to handle the situation since it has happened for a long time, so the country may also need time to solve it,” Don said.
Thailand continues to push ahead with sustainable development goals for Asean and the United Nations since the country assumed a coordinating role for the task last year, Don added. 
“There is no timeframe for this task but we will try our best to move the goal both for the Asean 2025 and UN 2030 development goals,” he said.