ISTANBUL
The leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China on Wednesday sought to shore up mutual trust amid tensions over maritime claims in the disputed South China Sea.
“As long as China and ASEAN countries can keep to the right path, whatever storms may come, their cooperation will be as firm as ever and press ahead against all odds,” Chinese Premier Li Qiang told leaders of the 10-member bloc, who met in Indonesia’s capital Jakarta for their annual summit.
China and many ASEAN member states share a maritime boundary in the disputed South China Sea where they have overlapping claims.
Notably, ahead of the summit, China released a new map which has riled Malaysia, the Philippines, India, and Vietnam over claims on land border and in the sea.
Jakarta has been hosting the 43rd summit of ASEAN leaders since Monday. China is the largest trade partner of ASEAN.
The two sides also exchanged views on regional and international issues of common interest.
Li said the China-ASEAN cooperation has come a long way “thanks to their keen understanding of hardships.”
“China and ASEAN countries have been committed to the unwavering pursuit of peace with a strong aspiration for development, and both take real action to safeguard regional stability,” said Li, according to Chinese state media.
Urging all sides to “realize concrete cooperation that is mutually beneficial,” Indonesian President Joko Widodo said: “This concrete cooperation will only be possible when we have trust in one another, which of course needs to be built and maintained by all parties.
“And one of them is by respecting international law,” said the Indonesian president, popularly known as Jokowi.
“With trust and concrete cooperation, then our cooperation can become the positive force for regional stability and peace,” he added.
Indonesia is the current chair of ASEAN and this year marks 20 years since China’s accession to the bloc’s Treaty of Amity and Cooperation.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim underlined the importance of “maintaining peace and stability and strengthening multilateralism.”
Urging stronger cooperation in agriculture to address the food security crisis, Anwar emphasized developing human resources by fostering innovation, technology, and technical education.
Calling China a “good neighbor and great friend” in terms of trade, investment, and security “arrangements, Anwar said: “As I relayed to you earlier, Premier Li Qiang, we take a strong independent stance as far as protecting our country and interest of the region (are concerned).”
Li, for his part, said: “China and ASEAN have succeeded in blazing a path of long-term good neighborliness and friendship, as well as common development and prosperity in the past 10 years as the world undergoes profound changes unseen in a century.”
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. told the ASEAN-China summit: “We must emphasize that practical cooperation in the maritime domain can only flourish with an enabling environment of regional peace, security, and stability, anchored in international law.”
The vessels of China and the Philippines often encounter each other in the disputed waters of the minerals-rich South China Sea.
The ASEAN leaders also held the 24th ASEAN-South Korea summit on Wednesday.
The two sides reviewed cooperation and “reaffirmed the commitment of both sides to further strengthen the partnership and cooperation,” said an ASEAN statement.
Amid reports that North Korea and Russia may go for an arms deal, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol called for an “immediate halt” to any such cooperation.
“Attempts at military cooperation with North Korea, which damage peace in the international community, should be stopped immediately,” Yoon told the ASEAN leaders.
On Seoul’s relations with the Southeast Asian regional bloc, Yoon said: “South Korea will increase arms cooperation and defense consultations with ASEAN states while strengthening cooperation in cyber security, transnational crimes and maritime security,” Yonhap News reported.
