Malaysia looking forward to a clear-cut Code of Conduct deal in South China Sea

SINGAPORE: Malaysia is looking forward to the faster implementation of the agreement on the Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China and hopes to see a ‘clean piece’ of Declaration on the Conduct of Parties ( DOC) in the area, says Malaysia Foreign Affairs Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah.

Asean and China Thursday had arrived at Single Draft Code of Conduct (CoC) Negotiating Text, which will be a living document and the basis for future negotiations.

“The fact that we have arrived at a single text on COC, to me, it is an important step forward and of course we are still discussing.

“I am happy to say that the discussion is going on very well,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the third- day of the 51st Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting here yesterday.

He was asked to comment on the latest development on the COC and its importance to Malaysia.

“The biggest issue is to ensure that the South China Sea is free from any activities that can cause concern to Asean member states and other interested parties in the region,” said Saifuddin who was appointed Malaysia’s foreign minister on July 2.

On whether he will, as a new Asean foreign minister, take a stronger stand on SCS issue, Saifuddin said that “it is not about a stronger position.”

“We continue with our firm position, that it has to be free and no aggression, people must exercise self-restraint,” he said.

On the Rakhine conflict, Saifuddin said Malaysia has always been firm on the issue and has urged for solution to the conflict. He said Malaysia was also pleased to see that the Myanmar government engaging with the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State led by the Kofi Annan Foundation.

In a Joint Communiqué Thursday, Asean noted the progress made by Myanmar in implementing the recommendations of the final report of the Advisory Commission, and encouraged the country to continue to implement the remaining recommendations.

“So the engagement is going on. It has to be solved, we need to expedite it, but there are some forward moving development,” he added.

The 10-nation regional grouping had on Thursday made calls to find a comprehensive and durable solution to address the root causes of the conflict in Myanmar’s Rakhine State.

Asked on trade wars, Saifuddin said if trade wars continued everyone will be affected in one way or other.

“I think generally we are all concerned about the trade war that is happening. All of Asean member states are trading states.

“We trade with China, we trade with US, we trade with Europe, what we want – we are a group of small nations – (is) to trade freely and fairly,” he said.

The United States has been rocking the foundations of global wide trade, with its recent imposition of tariffs on goods from the EU, Canada, Mexico and China. — Bernama