Resolution on South China Sea Dispute

Dr Lim Wee Kiak asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs what is the latest status of the South China Sea dispute resolution between ASEAN claimant states and China.

I last addressed this issue in August 2012, after the 45th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM) in July 2012, where I laid out Singapore's position and interests as well as ASEAN's. I will not repeat

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Singapore's position at length today, save to highlight two points: we are not a claimant state and we have always maintained that by their very nature, the specific territorial disputes in the South China Sea (SCS) can only be settled by the parties directly concerned. This should be done in accordance with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. In addition, it remains a common interest for ASEAN, China and all major powers to maintain peace and stability in the SCS. ASEAN needs to work closely with China, a claimant state, to promote cooperation and manage tensions in the area.

In this context, ASEAN and China have had several rounds of informal consultations at the officials' level on this issue since August 2012. These include the ASEAN-China Senior Officials' Informal Consultations on the Code of Conduct (COC) in the SCS in September 2012, the ASEAN-China Senior Officials' Retreat in Pattaya in October 2012 and the ASEAN-China Workshop on the 10th Anniversary of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in Phnom Penh in November 2012. The issue was also discussed at the Track II level at the ASEAN-China Forum held in Singapore in November last year in which senior officials from several ASEAN countries and China participated.

The common thread running through all these discussions is the recognition by all sides that we share a common interest and responsibility in maintaining peace and stability in the SCS. It is important that all parties refrain from provocative behaviour that could raise tensions in the SCS. Instead, ASEAN and China should find constructive ways to manage the territorial disputes. One way to do so is to fully implement the DOC, including cooperative projects which will help to build mutual trust and confidence amongst all parties.

Another step that we should take is to formally negotiate a COC in the SCS. While a COC cannot and should not be aimed at resolving sovereignty disputes in the SCS, it will provide a rules-based framework to manage the disputes pending the resolution of the claims. ASEAN Member States have called upon China to begin formal discussions on a COC as soon as possible. China has told us that it is still not ready to embark on such discussions. This is China's sovereign decision and since we cannot even begin to discuss a COC without China, we have to respect its position. China has stressed that the DOC should be fully implemented first. The DOC and COC are complementary, not alternatives or sequential. There are advantages to negotiating a COC in parallel with the implementation of the DOC as the latter will build confidence that will facilitate discussions on a COC. We believe it is in the interests of all parties, in particular the claimant states, to begin discussions on a COC as soon as

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possible. We and other ASEAN Member States will continue engaging the Chinese and hope that they will see it in everyone’s interests to begin formal negotiations on a COC soon.