ASEAN and China have agreed on the Guidelines on the Implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.
The landmark agreement was reached after talks between senior officials from both sides in Bali.
"This is a significant and good start for us to work together to continue dialogue and cooperation with a view to further promote this stability and confidence in the region," Mr Pham Quang Vinh, Assistant to Viet Nam Foreign Minister told reporters after the meeting.
Reflecting similar sentiments, China's Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin said the officials would submit what they had approved to their Ministers for final endorsement.
"This is an important milestone document on the cooperation among China and ASEAN countries," said Mr Liu to reporters. "And we have a bright future and we are looking forward to future cooperation."
Although still at the early stage, the document raised hopes for a peaceful resolution to the overlapping claims in the South China Sea.
In his speech to the delegates yesterday, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has stressed the importance of stability in the area.
"We need to send a strong signal to the world that the future of the South China Sea is a predictable, manageable and optimistic one. And we need to finalise that long overdue guidelines," he said, adding: "we need to get moving to the next phase, which is identifying the elements of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea."
0 comments:
Post a Comment