Indonesia Brings Up South China Sea Issue In JCBC Meeting With China

By Mohd Iswandi Kasan Anuar

JAKARTA, Feb 23 (Bernama) -- The South China Sea issue was raised by Indonesia during the fourth Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) meeting between Indonesia and China on Wednesday.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said negotiations on the Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea should immediately continue after being delayed due to the pandemic.

In a press conference with his Chinese counterpart, Qin Gang, here, he said Indonesia and ASEAN want to produce an 'effective, substantive and actionable' CoC.

"Indonesia wants to see the South China Sea as a peaceful and stable sea. Respect for international law, especially UNCLOS 1982, is key," she said.

The issue of Myanmar and the implementation of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific for ASEAN as well as trade, investment, and cooperation in the field of health as well as connectivity between the two countries were also discussed.

Qin Gang arrived on Tuesday for a three-day official visit to Indonesia, marking his first visit to the region since his appointment at the end of last year.

Before the JCBC meeting, he paid a courtesy call to President Joko Widodo – better known as Jokowi – at Istana Merdeka.

At the meeting, Retno said Qin Gang conveyed China's commitment to improve relations and cooperation and increase imports from Indonesia, especially agricultural products.

Jokowi, on the other hand, hopes that strategic cooperation will be increased including the completion of the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed ​​Railway, the construction of a green industrial park in Kalimantan, and the construction of Nusantara and downstream industries, said Retno.

-- BERNAMA