RI Ready to Collaborate with the Philippines to Complete the LCS CoC

The Antara website reported that Indonesian Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, after a bilateral meeting with Philippine Foreign Minister Enrique A Manalo in the Philippines on Tuesday (9/1) said, "We welcome the Statement on Maintaining and Promoting Maritime Stability in Southeast Asia issued by the ASEAN Foreign Ministers on December 30 last year,". The statement by ASEAN foreign ministers is an important step to ensure that the South China Sea remains a peaceful, stable and prosperous sea. The Philippines and China have frequently been involved in disputes in the waters of the South China Sea in recent months, especially near the disputed Second Thomas Shoal which is part of the Spratly Islands. Beijing claims sovereignty over almost all areas of the South China Sea, including parts of the exclusive economic zones (EEZ) of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 said China's claims had no legal basis. In November 2023, the Philippines proposed new code of conduct guidelines for stability and peace in the disputed South China Sea area. Manila's proposal came after President Ferdinand Marcos became concerned about the prolonged negotiations between Southeast Asian countries and China regarding the CoC in the South China Sea. "We are currently negotiating our own code of conduct, for example with Vietnam because we are still waiting for the CoC between China and ASEAN and unfortunately progress is a little slow," said Marcos. "So we took the initiative to approach countries around ASEAN, with whom we have territorial conflicts," he added. Marcos is also seeking support from countries, such as Vietnam and Malaysia, to establish a maritime code of conduct that would maintain peace in the South China Sea. The South China Sea Declaration of Conduct of Parties (DoC) is an agreement on conduct in the South China Sea signed by ASEAN and China in November 2002, marking the first time China has accepted a multilateral agreement on this issue.