M'sia working with Asian counterparts on claims over South China Sea

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is cooperating with other countries in Asia to ensure there is no conflict or power struggle over the South China Sea.
Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Reezal Naina Merican said all the countries including Brunei, the Phillipines, Vietnam, China and Malaysia, are responsible to ensure the peace and stability in the South China Sea.
"In regards to the overlapping claims on the sea, the government believes the matter should be solved amicably among the claimant states, and has to be based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (Unclos 1982)," he said.
Reezal added that Malaysia has carried out patrolling, monitoring and enforcement duties in the South China Sea.
"To ensure there is peace and stability, Asean countries and China had signed the Declaration on Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) on Nov 4, 2002.
"Through this agreement, claimant states have made efforts to build trust and avoid conflict in the sea," he said in reply to a question by Senator Admiral Tan Sti Mohd Anwar Mohd Nor.
He also said while the Asean countries and China held on to the DOC, it is moving towards establishing a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) in future.