ASEAN and China must push and quickly conclude a Code of Conduct (COC) in the East Sea for maritime stability so that the regional grouping can maintain its central role, said Singapore Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen on August 6.
Singapore Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen. (Photo: AFP/VNA)
Singapore (VNA) – ASEANand China must push and quickly conclude a Code of Conduct (COC) in the EastSea for maritime stability so that the regional grouping can maintain itscentral role, said Singapore Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen on August 6.
Ng added that the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)should also be strengthened, as it is "the legal framework on which bothrights of navigation and claims of resources are based on".
For ASEAN to maintain its centrality, it must remain "neutral, inclusiveand open", he said.
Speaking at the 20th Asia-Pacific Programme for Senior MilitaryOfficers organised by the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, the ministersaid trade, ASEAN must focus on such areas as trade, connectivity and defence inorder to maintain its central role.
While ASEAN needs to make collective efforts to avoid trade tensions, this blocshould also continue promoting multilateral free trade agreements signed withthe EU and China, he said.
He also called on ASEAN member states to stay vigilant against security threatslike terrorism.
Last week, at the ASEAN-China Ministerial Meeting on the sidelines of the 51stASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Singapore, Foreign Minister of the hostcountry Vivian Balakrishnan said that ASEAN and China have agreed on a “singledraft” negotiating text of the COC in the East Sea.
🦋 They have also agreed on the "key modalities" for future rounds ofnegotiations, he added.-VNA
Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Defence Nguyen Chi Vinh and his Japanese counterpart Ro Manabe agreed that the China-ASEAN Code of Conduct (COC) on the East Sea should be effective and legally binding.
ASEAN member nations and China are committed to completing a code of conduct (COC) to handle disputes in the East Sea, said Singaporean Minister of Defence Ng Eng Hen.
Ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are expected to discuss a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) in Singapore next week, said Malaysian .
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China have agreed on a “single draft” negotiating text of a Code of Conduct (COC) in the East Sea, an important stride towards narrowing differences among parties.
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Singapore Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen. (Photo: AFP/VNA)
