"We are closely following and are concerned about recent developments in the South China Sea," the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Statement on Maintaining and Promoting Stability in the Maritime Space in Southeast Asia said.
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| ASEAN Foreign Ministers issued a Statement on Maintaining and Promoting Maritime Stability. (Source: ASEAN.org) |
On December 30, ASEAN Foreign Ministers issued the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Statement on Maintaining and Promoting Stability in Maritime Space in Southeast Asia.
This document once again affirms ASEAN's common viewpoint on maritime cooperation in the region. These are the basic principles in the conduct of countries in the seas of Southeast Asia, including the East Sea.
"We are closely following and are concerned about recent developments in the South China Sea," the statement said. On that basis, the ASEAN Foreign Ministers "reaffirmed the urgency of restoring and enhancing trust and confidence; exercising self-restraint in the conduct of activities that could complicate or escalate disputes and affect peace and stability; avoiding actions that could further complicate the situation and peacefully resolving disputes in accordance with universally recognized principles of international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS."
The Foreign Ministers also "emphasized the importance of fully and effectively implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and committed to close cooperation to soon achieve an effective and substantive Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) in accordance with international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS".
Referring to recent exchanges between countries on this issue, ASEAN Foreign Ministers "welcomed the recent US-China maritime consultations in Beijing as well as the meeting between US President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC Leaders' Meeting in California" and "hoped that such dialogues will continue to promote ASEAN's efforts to enhance stability and cooperation in the maritime space in the region".
This is the fifth time ASEAN has issued a separate statement on maritime issues since 1995. It is known that the last time ASEAN issued a separate statement on the East Sea was in 2014.
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