‘Code of Conduct on South China sea should be consistent’
NEW DELHI: India stressed on Wednesday that the Code of Conduct on the South China Sea should be fully consistent with the relevant UN convention and that the negotiations on it should not prejudice the legitimate rights and interests of the nations that are not party to the discussions.
In a virtual address at a meeting of the East Asia Summit (EAS), external affairs Minister S Jaishankar also highlighted the growing convergence of approaches on the Indo-Pacific region among different members of the grouping. Separately, Jaishankar also addressed a meeting of the Asean-India foreign ministers during which he touched upon a range of issues, including connectivity, and said India is looking forward to an early review of the “trade in goods agreement”.
“Stressed that Code of Conduct on South China Sea should be fully consistent with UNCLOS 1982. Should not prejudice legitimate rights and interests of nations not party to discussions,” Jaishankar tweeted about his meeting with the foreign ministers of the EAS member countries. China claims sovereignty over all of the South China Sea, a huge source of hydrocarbons. However, several Asean member countries, including Vietnam, the Philippines and Brunei, have counterclaims.
India has been pitching for a rules-based order in the region, including through upholding adherence to international law, especially the UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea). Jaishankar described the discussions at the Asean meeting as “substantive and fruitful”.
“The broader context, in which we approach our relationship today, as indeed anything else of significance is undeniably that of the Covid-19 crisis. We have noted how Asean members have purposefully responded to it, individually and collectively,” he said.