Indonesia Urges S China Sea Claimants To Refrain

Nay Pyi Taw, Nov 12 (Antara) - The Indonesian government has called on all parties involved in the South China Sea conflict to refrain from escalating the issue and abide by the international law. "(Indonesia gives emphasis on) two points, (asking parties involved) to refrain, not resort to violence, and to be committed to implementing the Code of Conduct (CoC) and the Declaration of Conduct (DoC)," Cabinet Secretary Andi Widjajanto stated on the sidelines of accompanying President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) in a bilateral meeting with Myanmar President U Thein Sein here on Wednesday. He remarked that the Indonesian government also encouraged the finalization of the CoC deliberations through the agreed forums. While deliberations are still underway, all sides should continue to abide by the international law. Many sides have forecast that the South China Sea conflict, which had been taking place over the past several years, has the potential to break into an open conflict among countries that wholly or partly claimed sovereignty in the South China Sea. The overlapping claims by Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, China, and Taiwan have triggered ongoing tensions in the region, including a clash between China and Vietnam recently. After accomplishing the DoC, which is not binding to ensure that all parties will refrain and implement the commitment, claimant countries are moving ahead to finalize the CoC, which will be legally binding. On the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in Beijing, on November 10-12, 2014, President Jokowi held a meeting with Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang, while Chinese President Xi Jinping also met Philippine President Benigno Aquino. Many observers were of the viewpoint that the South China Sea issue will also have links with the idea of President Jokowi to open a national maritime axis, which is connected to the global maritime lanes, particularly the idea to connect the national maritime axis with China`s Silk Road concept in the 21st century. Thus, an open conflict in the region will have a negative impact on Indonesia, even if Indonesia is not directly involved in the regional conflict. ASEAN, which was formed in 1967, comprises Indonesia, Brunei Darussalam, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Singapore, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and Malaysia. The association has a combined population of 500 million people.