On May 18, 2019, the 17th Senior Officials’ Meeting on the Implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) was held in Hangzhou, China. Assistant Foreign Minister Chen Xiaodong attended the meeting as the senior official of the Chinese side with the senior officials from the ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
All parties made in-depth exchanges of views on topics such as the effective implementation of the DOC, advancing maritime practical cooperation and negotiations on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC). All parties believed that the current situation in the South China Sea is developing toward a better and more stable direction. The constant and active progress in the implementation of the DOC, maritime cooperation and negotiations on the COC is conducive to boosting trust and confidence among regional countries. All parties agreed to continuously remain committed to effectively implementing the DOC across the board, actively advance various kinds of maritime practical cooperation, enhance trust, and gather consensus, so as to make unremitting efforts to safeguard peace, stability and common development of the South China Sea.
At the meeting, the outcomes of the reading of the single draft negotiating text of the COC for the current stage were confirmed. All parties agreed to speed up the negotiations and reach the COC at an early date. The DOC implementation plan for 2016-2021 was also reviewed and updated and a number of new maritime practical cooperation projects were confirmed at the meeting.
From May 16 to 17, various parties also held the 28th Joint Working Group Meeting on the DOC.