VIENTIANE: Malaysia is hoping to conclude the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea when it chairs the upcoming Asean summit next year, says Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.
The Foreign Minister said the South China Sea issue was discussed during the Asean-China Summit on Thursday (Oct 10) morning and the matter should be handled promptly, as it concerns a region that involves many global trading activities.
“So, any unilateral claims by a party will lead to issues. We are asking for the South China Sea issue to be collectively dealt via the Asean approach.
“We want the Code of Conduct to be immediately finalised … it is Malaysia’s responsibility to handle this, so that this Code of Conduct is possible to be finalised during our chairmanship,” said Mohamad at a hotel in Vientiane on Thursday (Oct 10) night.
When asked about China’s response during the Asean-China Summit, Mohamad said that Beijing remained adamant on its stance about the South China Sea.
“China stated that the South China Sea is theirs, they said that this was according to international laws.
“But, we also said we followed international laws. So, let’s see. Whatever it is, we will go through diplomatic channels so that we don’t completely shut our doors and communications are still ongoing,” said Mohamad.
He also urged all Asean countries not to shut the doors on talks, as the South China Sea issue should be dealt with collectively.
“Because Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia and China have many littoral states there.
“But, we are at an advantage here because we have registered our maps and we followed the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) which clearly stated where the shore line, advance line and forward line were,” said Mohamad.
Mohamad said the South China Sea route is one of the busiest waterways in the world for trading activities.
“There must not be a crisis here otherwise, the world will face an issue because this is one of the busiest trading routes in the world,” added Mohamad.
The South China Sea has been a contentious issue in the region after China claims nearly the entire region, despite overlapping maritime claims by Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Brunei.
Last Friday, the Philippines also criticised China’s alleged assault of Vietnamese fishermen in the South China Sea.
There were concerns of an armed conflict after China and the Philippines were locked in numerous confrontations.
In March this year, it was reported that the second reading of the COC was completed and it is now into third reading.
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