President Jokowi: Respect International Law on South China Sea Conflict

The Heads of ASEAN countries and Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China Li Keqiang made a group photo at the ASEAN-China Summit, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Saturday (21/11)

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said that China is ASEAN’s important partner and in 2016, cooperation between ASEAN and China will have been established for 25 years.

Therefore, President Jokowi emphasized two points. Firstly, ASEAN and China must be able to create  stability and peace in the regions.

In this case, related to the issue of South China Sea, President Jokowi said that both sides must de-escalate  tension in South China Sea.

According to the President, countries along South China Sea area must advance the spirit of cooperation and he believes that it is better than advancing the spirit of rivalries.

“I believe everyone wishes for the stability in South China Sea,” President Jokowi said in ASEAN-China Summit, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Saturday (21/11).

Therefore, President Jokowi hopes every country involded in the dispute would respect the prevailing international law. He also hopes that the negotiation process of the Code of Conduct will be accelerated. Furthermore, Declaration of Conduct must be implemented fully and effectively, he added.

Secondly, President Jokowi emphasized that ASEAN and China must be able to build mutually-beneficial economic partnership given the enormous economic potentials that  ASEAN and China have.

“We have US$ 1 trillion target of two-way-trading in 2020. Therefore, investment value is expected to reach US$ 150 billion,” President Jokowi said.

In his closing statement, President Jokowi also expressed his appreciation to China for its support to host East Asia Summit (EAS) Statement on Enhancing Regional Maritime Cooperation which will be put into an agreement on the 10^th East Asia Summit.

Therefore, the President said, “All EAS countries have approved it.” (TKP/ES) (RAS/EP/YM/Naster)