The South China Sea region remains important and critical to global trade, while face-to-face meetings are essential for regional cooperation and smooth negotiations, said Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.

He was speaking in Jakarta, Indonesia on Jul. 14, after a week of attending Asean-related meetings, such as the 56th Asean Foreign Ministers Meeting (AMM).

The meetings underscored Asean's continued relevance and usefulness, as well as focusing on the digital and green economies, food security and interoperability in the region.

Critical nature of South China Sea

Responding to a question from Lianhe Zaobao about the significance of completed negotiations on the Code of Conduct (COC) for the South China Sea, Vivian first highlighted that the South China Sea is “critical”.

“So much of global trade flows through the South China Sea. Even without an actual war, you just have tensions, insurance premiums go up, the cost of trade is aggregated. So, the South China Sea remains as critical as important as ever before.”

Positive developments

He also pointed to the progress made in face-to-face negotiations after the Covid pandemic, namely the second reading of the COC.

Other than the reading, Vivian noted that there was also “another positive development”, which was the agreement on guidelines to facilitate such negotiations.

“[T]here is a collective commitment to have a substantive and effective Code of Conduct that is consistent with international law, and especially 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which sets out rights for freedom of navigation and overflight for everyone."

China's top diplomat Wang Yi, who was also present at the meeting, welcomed the reading's successful conclusion and hoped that the guidelines would continue to play a constructive role, The Straits Times reported.

Vivian also reiterated that the South China Sea and its “trade arteries” was of utmost importance for the global trade system, and expressed his belief that “there is political will to move forward”.

Not straightforward

Vivian, however, cautioned that the South China sea itself remains a “complicated subject”.

He referred to the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) signed by Asean member states and China in 2002.

“The DOC was meant to be an interim, a stopgap until the COC could be settled. It has taken 20 years. I am not in a position to give you a timeline for when we will reach the destination, but for what it is worth, the political will has been expressed.”

Singapore does not have to take sides

Vivian also noted that it was fortunate that Singapore was not a claimant state in the South China Sea disputes.

Asean members like the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei have disputes with China in the resource-rich region.

“So, we do not have to take sides on the merits and demerits of the individual claims of sovereignty. But nevertheless, as a city-state, where trade is three times our GDP (Gross Domestic Product), we do have a stake in peace and stability in the South China Sea.”

Singapore would continue to strive its best to “facilitate, be constructive and to encourage a positive conclusion” of the negotiations, he noted.

Moving forward

Vivian stated that going forward, negotiations are to be continued despite the difficulty of resolving many areas.

Nevertheless, it is helpful that political will exists and there are opportunities for face-to-face meetings, he said.

“You need face-to-face meetings. You need to be able to shake hands and look into each other's eyes and try to get an accurate assessment of where those red lines are and where potential landing zones are.”

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Top image via Facebook/Vivian Balakrishnan