By Xue Li and Liu Mingyi

September 11, 2015

"The 48th ASEAN Ministerial Meetings and related meetings were held from August 4-6, 2015. However, Wang Yi, China's foreign minister, made the biggest impression on August 3, just before the meetings proper. He called a press conference to announce that China would keep five commitments on the South China Sea issue. These commitments are as follows: (1) maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea, (2) peacefully solving disputes through negotiation and consultation, (3) controlling differences through rules and regulations, (4) maintaining freedom of navigation and overflight in the area, (5) gaining mutual benefits through cooperation.

What do these five commitments mean for the South China Sea issue?

First, the five commitments developed from and improve upon China's 'dual-track approach.' This approach, which was announced in August 2014, was stated as follows: disputes will be solved by countries that are directly involved through friendly negotiations, and the peace and stability of the South China Sea will be maintained by China and ASEAN countries. At its core, the approach states that negotiations on the South China Sea disputes can be performed under a multilateral framework, and that ASEAN can be involved in the South China Sea issue. This significant adjustment to the South China Sea policy is an insightful motivation to hold consultations on a code of conduct in the South China Sea, as approved during the 2013 Suzhou conference on the issue. However, countless storms have occurred around the South China Sea in the year since the 'dual-track approach' was announced, and thus simply highlighting these two points will be insufficient. China must completely state its position."

Read more:
http://thediplomat.com/2015/09/explaining-chinas-new-commitments-on-the-south-china-sea/

NISCSS does not necessarily share in or endorse the opinions of off-site commentators.