RI Ready To Cooperate With The Philippines To Immediately Complete South China Sea CoC

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi shook hands with Philippine Foreign Minister Enrique A Manalo (right) after a bilateral meeting in Manila on Tuesday (9/1/2024). (ANTARA/HO-official account X @Menlu_RI)

JAKARTA - Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi stated that Indonesia is ready to cooperate with all ASEAN member countries, including the Philippines, to resolve the South China Sea Code of Conduct (CoC) as soon as possible.

He made this statement after a bilateral meeting with Philippine Foreign Minister Enrique A Manalo in the Philippines on Tuesday (9/1).

"We welcome the Statement of Maintaining and Promoting Maritime Stability in Southeast Asia issued by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of ASEAN on December 30 last year," said Retno based on a transcript of his press statement, reported by ANTARA, Wednesday, January 10.

The statement of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers, said Retno, is an important step to ensure the South China Sea remains a peaceful, stable and prosperous ocean.

The Philippines and China have frequently been involved in disputes in the waters of the South China Sea in recent months, especially near disputed Beting Second Thomas and part of the Spratly Islands.

Beijing claims sovereignty over almost all regions in the South China Sea, including part of the exclusive economic zones (EEZ) Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. Permanent Arbitration Court in 2016 said China's claim had no legal basis.

In November 2023, the Philippines proposed new code of conduct guidelines for stability and peace in the South China Sea dispute region.

Manila's proposal came after President Ferdinand Marcos was concerned about the prolonged negotiations between Southeast Asian countries and China about the CoC in the South China Sea.

"We are currently negotiating our own governance guidelines, for example with Vietnam because we are still waiting for the CoC between China and ASEAN and its development is unfortunately a little slow," Marcos said.

"So we took the initiative to approach countries around ASEAN, with whom we have territorial conflicts," he added.

Marcos is also seeking support from countries, such as Vietnam and Malaysia, to establish a marine code of ethics that will maintain peace in the South China Sea.

The South China Sea's Para-Party Code of Conduct (DoC) is an agreement on behavior in the South China Sea signed by ASEAN and China in November 2002, marking the first time China has received a multilateral agreement on the issue.