President Jokowi calls for peace in South China Sea

President Jokowi calls for peace in South China Sea

21 November 2015 16:41 WIB

Kuala Lumpur (ANTARA News) - Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has called for peace in South China Sea and asked China together with ASEAN countries to build stability and peace in the region by reducing tension in the South China Sea.

China is an important partner of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, President Jokowi, as he is also called, said at the ASEAN-China Summit here Saturday.

The ASEAN-China cooperation will reach its 25th anniversary in 2016.

President Jokowi in his speech at the meeting had emphasized two things, namely that ASEAN and China must be able to create stability and peace in the region, and tension in South China Sea must be reduced, while activities that could create tension must be halted.

Countries around South China Sea must put forward the "mood of cooperation", he said, and added that he believed it was better than a mood of rivalries.

"I am convinced that none of us wishes instability in the South China Sea," he said.

In view of that, President Jokowi hoped every country involved in the South China Sea issue would respect the existing international laws.

Negotiations of the Code of Conduct must be accelerated while the Declaration of Conduct must be implemented effectively and in its entirety, he said.

ASEAN and China must be able to build a new mutually beneficial economic partnership in view of the huge economic potentials of ASEAN and China, President Jokowi also emphasized.

"We have set a two-way trade target of US$1 trillion by 2020. In addition to that investment is expected to reach US$150 billion. The mutually beneficial keyword must be continuously given attention in the cooperation," he said.

President Jokowi expressed appreciation to China for becoming the co-sponsor of the draft East Asia Summit Statement on Enhancing Regional Maritime Cooperation that would be ratified in the 10th East Asia summit.

"All East Asia Summit members have approved it and Indonesia believes China will give its cooperation," he said.

(Reporting Agus Salim/Uu.H-YH/INE/KR-BSR/A014)
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