Indonesia Willing to cooperate with South East Asian Nations in the formulation of South China Sea Code

On January 9, 2024, Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, expressed the willingness of her nation to collaborate with fellow Southeast Asian nations in expediting the finalization of a protracted Code of Conduct for the South China Sea. The region has been marred by overlapping territorial claims between several neighboring states and China.
During a joint press conference with Filipino counterpart Enrique Manalo in Manila, Minister Retno conveyed Indonesia’s commitment to actively engage with all member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), including the Philippines, to promptly conclude the Code of Conduct. This statement was made in anticipation of an upcoming visit by Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
The protracted negotiations for a Code of Conduct have persisted within ASEAN and China since as early as 2002. Despite mutual commitments by all involved parties to accelerate the process, progress has been notably slow.
China asserts its territorial claims in the South China Sea through a delineation known as the “nine-dash line,” extending as far as 1,500 km south of its mainland. This demarcation encroaches upon the exclusive economic zones of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. In 2016, an international arbitral tribunal ruling invalidated a significant portion of China’s claims, a decision that Beijing has consistently rejected.