ASEAN's Approach To South China Sea Disputes Remains Consistent, Says Sec-Gen

By Mohd Khairi Idham Amran KUALA LUMPUR, April 27 (Bernama) -- ASEAN's stand and approach on the South China Sea disputes have been consistent based on five principles, including peaceful solution of dispute, non-use of force and self-restrain, its Secretary-General Le Luong Minh said. He said that ASEAN was also pushing for full implementation of the Declaration of Conduct (DoC) agreed between ASEAN and China in 2002 which, among others, reaffirmed the parties' commitment to international law. "Though we have agreed on some commonalities and have set the measures to establish a hotline to respond to emergencies at sea, we have not been able to engage in more substantive consultation and negotiation on specific elements such as the Code of Conduct (CoC)." He said this in an interview with Bernama and TV3 in conjunction with the Malaysian-chaired 26th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi. Le stressed that it was more urgent now for the ASEAN work agenda to secure and to achieve an early CoC as it was a legally binding instrument capable of not only preventing, but also managing incidents happening in the South China Sea. He said that activities such as reclamation of land in the disputed area in the South China Sea was contrary to the spirit of Article 5 of the DoC, which stipulated that no other parties should obtain the status quo of the disputed area and the activities. "The changing of status quo is contrary to the spirit of Article 5 of the DoC and it should be stopped," he said in an apparent reference to China. The overlapping territorial maritime claims in the resources-rich South China Sea involves Brunei, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, China and Taiwan. The ASEAN and China joint working group on the CoC in the South China Sea will meet in Thailand in May for further discussions on the document's formulation. International media had reported that construction work was booming in the South China Sea in an area whose sovereignty is disputed by the six parties. Among others, the reports mentioned that according to new satellite images, China was making rapid progress in building an airstrip suitable for military use in the disputed territories. Established in 1967, ASEAN comprises 10 countries, namely Brunei, the Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. -- BERNAMA