Nepal Foreign Affairs (Singapore, August 3): Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said that the South China Sea issue is not an issue between China and ASEAN, and thus shall not impact the bigger picture of cooperation between China and ASEAN.
Speaking to media persons in Singapore on August 3, the Chinese Foreign Minister said “The South China Sea issue should be put at a proper place in China-ASEAN relations. China and ASEAN have worked out a dual-track approach for the settlement of the South China Sea issue, which requires that countries directly concerned should properly resolve disputes through negotiation and consultation, and that China and ASEAN should jointly uphold peace and stability of the South China Sea.”
The minister said that the two sides have also set up mechanisms for the discussion on the South China Sea issue, including the Senior Officials’ Meeting on the Implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) and the Joint Working Group on the consultation over the code of conduct in the South China Sea.
“These mechanisms are working well, making constant and important progress. The Chinese side will adhere to five commitments on the South China Sea issue, namely peace and stability of the South China Sea, a peaceful solution based on negotiation and consultation, proper management of disputes by rules and mechanisms, freedom of navigation and over-flight in the South China Sea and win-win outcomes through cooperation,” Wang said.
Wang stressed that the Chinese side would make unswerving efforts to safeguard the generally stable situation in the South China Sea that does not come easily and would not allow any country to cause chaos in the South China Sea.