LEAD: ASEAN, China map out S. China Sea code of conduct

0 Comments | Asian Political News, March 20, 2000

CHA AM, Thailand, March 15 Kyodo

(EDS: UPDATING WITH POINTS OF PROPOSED S. CHINA SEA CODE AGREED AT THE END OF MEETING)

Officials of China and the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN), ending Wednesday a first meeting on the disputed South China Sea, agreed on four basic points that will be incorporated in a proposed code of conduct for the sea.

Chinese and ASEAN officials agreed in principle to solve disputes peacefully, to enhance trust and confidence, to cooperate in various areas, including navigation and environment as well as to hold further meetings with a full mandate on the South China Sea issue.

The four basic points will be further discussed at a meeting between senior officials of ASEAN and China in Kuala Lumpur in mid-April, said Sihasak Phuangketkeaw, deputy director general of East Asia department of the Thai Foreign Ministry.

"The outcome of the meeting is (we) agreed to have a code of conduct...at least we know what we have to discuss in the next meeting," he told reporters.

Neither side has yet touched upon the differences in their respective drafts, an official who attended the two-hour meeting said.

China called earlier on ASEAN to explore ways for dispute settlement over the South China Sea under the framework of the joint statement recognized by both sides in 1997.

"In the eighth paragraph of the 1997 joint statement of ASEAN-China, we have laid down fundamentals to resolve the differences or disputes through the peaceful means, without resorting to the threat or use of force," said Yang Yanyi, a counselor at the Chinese Foreign Ministry's Asian Affairs Department.

The joint statement of ASEAN-China was issued in December 1997 when Chinese President Jiang Zemin met ASEAN's leaders in Kuala Lumpur.

Yang, who is the head of Chinese delegations to the first meeting on a proposed code of conduct in the South China Sea, said the spirit of the 1997 statement is to build mutual confidence in the region and friendly relations between China and ASEAN.

The Chinese draft code of conduct, as well, has copied words from the statement calling "parties concerned to continue to exercise self-restraint and handle relevant differences in a cool and constructive manner."

Beijing is also concerned about a military build up in the South China Sea and feels joint-military exercises, particularly near the dispute areas, would hurt the atmosphere of peaceful talk on the issue, Yang said.

"It is quite clear that after the end of the Cold War, the situation in the region relaxed. We don't see merit in bilateral military alliances," she said.

Earlier in the day, China called on ASEAN to refrain from military exercises in the South China Sea and to explore ways for dispute settlement in areas under the framework of a joint statement recognized by both sides in 1997.

In the region, the Philippines and the United States recently organized a large joint military exercises in areas near the Spratly Islands that Manila claims.

Senior officials from ASEAN and China arrived at the meeting in Cha Am with different drafts for a conduct code and few had expected major breakthroughs on the issues this time.

ASEAN wants the code to cover the Spratly and Paracel islands, while China wants only the Spratlys covered.

Despite Vietnamese claims to the islands, China sees no point in discussing the Paracel Islands and wants ASEAN to drop the issue.

The Spratly Islands, believed to be rich in oil and natural gas resources, are claimed in whole or in part by four ASEAN members -- Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam -- as well as by China and Taiwan.

ASEAN's other members are Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore and Thailand.