South China Sea hopes on rise

Beijing hopes for early adoption of a code of conduct in the South China Sea on the basis of consensus, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a daily news conference in Beijing on Wednesday.

He was commenting on a release from the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat in Boracay, the Philippines, on Tuesday, that called for efforts to complete an ASEAN-China framework for a code of conduct to facilitate the early adoption of the agreement.

Geng said China hopes to work with ASEAN countries to advance negotiations over the code and finish drafting a framework before the middle of the year.

He said that the 19th working group meeting on implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, announced in 2002, will be held in Bali, Indonesia, on Monday between China and ASEAN countries, and negotiations will include the code.

China is “willing and confident of ” boosting the negotiations, he said.

Luo Yongkun, a researcher on Southeast Asia studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said China and ASEAN countries have emphasized the importance of the code in maintaining regional peace, and he expects a “major achievement” in negotiations in the near future.

In another development, Geng dismissed comments made by Philippine Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay, who, according to Reuters, said following the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ meeting that the ministers were unanimous in their concern over what they see as China’s militarization of some of its islands in the South China Sea.

Geng said Yasay’s words were “only his own opinion” and do not represent the range of opinion in ASEAN.

Since he took office, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte “has been committed to” improving China-Philippine ties and properly handling the South China Sea issue, which had returned to the right track of solving issues through bilateral negotiations, Geng said.

Bilateral ties have improved significantly since Duterte’s visit to China in October and have included a wide range of cooperation deals between the two countries.

“This indicates fully that President Duterte’s policy is in line with the fundamental interests of the two countries and their people, as well as with regional peace and stability,” Geng said. “I hope Mr Yasay will also follow this policy.”

Luo said the two countries have a consensus on solving South China Sea issues through bilateral talks and strengthening cooperation, and the issue will be gradually solved through negotiations “as long as both sides maintain friendly cooperation.”

Geng also reiterated that China has rights to deploy necessary defense measures on its territories, after a report said the country has built structures on islands in the South China Sea that could house missiles.

Reuters quoted two United States officials as saying China has nearly finished building almost two dozen structures on some of its islands in the region that appear designed to house long-range surfaceto-air missiles.

Without confirming the report, Geng said, “It is within normal rights that China, as a sovereign state under international law, can carry out construction of normal facilities on its territories, including deploying necessary and moderate defense facilities.”

Pointing out that the South China Sea situation is developing in a good and stable direction, Geng urged “countries outside the region to respect efforts the regional countries have made and to do more to benefit regional peace and security”.

President Duterte’s policy is in line with the fundamental interests of the two countries and their people.” Geng Shuang, Foreign Ministry spokesman

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