“The recent incident in the South China Sea reminded us of the
importance of concluding the code of conduct on that body of water,”
said Marty on Friday, ahead of this weekend’s Asean Summit in Myanmar’s
capital, Naypyidaw.
China claims sovereignty over nearly all of the resource-rich sea,
home to vital shipping lanes, but Asean members including the
Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei have overlapping claims.
The South China Sea, which potentially has abundant reserves of crude
oil and natural gas, is widely considered as a flashpoint for a
potential military conflict with China, which recently has been exerting
its influence in the region.
Tensions are high after a collision between Chinese and Vietnamese vessels in the disputed area last week.
Vietnam has accused China of conducting drilling operations outside
its territory, while the Chinese government believes otherwise and
accuses Vietnam of intentionally provoking the incident, according to a
report from Reuters.
“The risk of an incident is very real. I hope the current meetings in
Myanmar will reinforce further recognition of that fact,” said the
minister.
Marty added that what’s happening on the ground was “not helping” and “could derail the talks”.
The minister added that the talks between Asean and the Chinese had yielded positive results.
Indonesia has been pushing for the code of conduct, which will act to
restrain the issue turning into a full-blown military conflict.
Building trust, avoiding conflicts and maintaining a conducive
situation in the South China Sea was the goal of the code, according to
Marty.
Rahmat Pramono, Indonesia’s ambassador to Asean, said the government
hopes the summit in Myanmar will produce a joint statement that will
highlight the importance of the issue to the 10-member Asean.
“We are working toward a common goal and understanding, but how will
it sound and how it will be worded is another issue,” said Rahmat,
adding that not all members had agreed to an understanding
The issue of the South China Sea almost divided Asean after leaders
failed for the first time to produce a joint communique in the wake of
the 2012 summit in Cambodia.
Marty then embarked on shuttle diplomacy to save Asean from its first
failure, even if it was only a simple, well-written diplomatic
statement.
While China believes that the issue of the disputed sea should be
solved in a bilateral manner, Asean is pushing for a multilateral
approach.
Indonesia, as the largest member in the group of Southeast Asian
nations and a non-claimant state in the quarrel, is seen as an ideal,
neutral broker.
Sumber : JakartaPost
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