(Courtesy Chinese Central Television news) — Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday that China is committed to working with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members to implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) and enhance consultations on the Code of Conduct (COC) to maintain peace and stability in the sea.
Wang, who is currently on a two-day visit to Singapore, made the remarks at a press conference after meeting with the city-state’s prime minister and foreign minister.
Noting the South China Sea has been under the spotlight in recent years, Wang said that the sea is not an issue between China and ASEAN as a whole. Therefore, it should not affect the overall interests of China-ASEAN cooperation.
“We have agreed on a clear approach to resolving the South China Sea issue, which is the ‘dual-track approach’ advocated by China. That is, the states directly involved will correctly resolve the South China Sea issue through peaceful negotiation, and in the meantime, China and ASEAN countries will work together to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea. We also have specific mechanisms in addressing the South China Sea issue, which includes senior officials meeting about implementing the DOC and the joint working group for advancing consultation towards a COC. And both mechanisms have been operating smoothly and making fresh and important achievements,” he said.
Wang said that China is committed to upholding peace and stability in the sea, peacefully resolving the disputes through negotiation and consultation, managing differences through developing rules and mechanisms, maintaining the freedom of navigation and flyover, and generating win-win results through cooperation.
At the moment, the general situation in the South China Sea is stable, and China is steadfastly committed to working with the parties to maintain this situation, which has not come easily. Wang said that China will never allow any country to destabilize the South China Sea.
Wang also stressed the nine-dash line should not be the focus of the South China Sea issue, adding that the focus should be the territorial disputes triggered by the illegal occupation of the islands and reefs that belong to China’s Nansha Islands.
The nine-dash line was declared by the then Chinese government in the 1940s, and it has been upheld by the successive Chinese governments, the minister said.
Regarding territorial sovereignty, China has abundant historical and legal evidence to prove this while its maritime rights to the waters enclosed within the nine-dash lines in the South China Sea are also upheld by history.
“The overlapping dispute is the focus of the issue, and regarding this, China has maintained a consistent and clear stance, which I will not reiterate. I believe that everyone who knows the basic facts and history will realize that the so called nine-dash dispute is just hype,” he said.
Stressing that China is also committed to resolving disputes through negotiations with countries directly involved, Wang, who will join foreign ministers from the 10 ASEAN members in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, said that the foreign ministers’ meetings are not the proper platforms to resolve the disputes.
