ASEAN and China reaffirmed here on Wednesday the importance of maintaining peace, stability and maritime security in the South China Sea, pledging to ensure a full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC).
China said on Monday that the involvement of countries outside the South China Sea region on the maritime disputes will only complicate the situation.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Indonesian counterpart, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, agreed that it is the common responsibility of the countries in the region to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea, according to a joint statement issued here Thursday.
No evidence of a "causal technical failure" was found in relation to last month's helicopter crash off Shetland into North Sea, said the British government's Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) on Thursday.
"The arbitration request initiated by the Philippines concerning the dispute of the South China sea has no legal ground", Huang Huikang, a senior Chinese diplomat, said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua on Thursday.
China's reform should be a profound one that proceeds in a sustained and gradual manner, according to an editorial in Friday's People's Daily, the flagship newspaper of the Communist Party of China (CPC).
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday that confrontations related to South China Sea issues will bear no fruit, calling on all involved parties to solve disputes through negotiation.
ASEAN foreign affairs and trade ministers on Thursday held meetings and discussed, among others, the progress made since the 21st ASEAN Summit, including political and security cooperation.
One of the fleets - Haijian 50, Haijian 51, Haijian 66 and Haijian 137 - were patrolling in the territorial waters surrounding the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea, while the other, including Haijian 75 and Haijian 167, patrolled in the South China Sea.
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