Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said on Wednesday that china would work with the association of southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) which is chaired by Indonesia this year to hasten negotiations on a proposed nonaggression pact which is designed to avoid armed confrontations in the South China Sea.
Speaking during a news conference during his visit to Indonesia as the new foreign minister Gang said China is planning to accelerate consultations on a code of conduct in the South China Sea as a part of a plan to "Jointly maintain the peace and stability in the south china sea fully".
In the same occassion/ indonesian foreign minister retno marsudi echoed gang's statements calling for a peaceful and stable sea.
The highly secretive talks between China and ASEAN's 10 member countries whose four of its members are locked in territorial disputes with Beijing over the strategic waterway have faced years of delay including during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
China and the regional bloc have agreed to speed up the negotiations this year but it's unclear how they can overcome key differences including which areas should be covered by the pact and whether the agreement should be legally binding,
