MYANMAR co-chaired the 43rd ASEAN-China Working Group meeting on the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The event took place in Bangkok, Thailand, from 13 to 15 May.

insheng of the Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China and Deputy Director-General of ASEAN Affairs Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs U Mang Hau Thang co-chaired the event, the report said.

The Meeting reviewed the progress made in the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) and the current situation in the South China Sea.

The Meeting reaffirmed the importance of practical maritime cooperation in building capacities and enhancing trust and confidence among parties and welcomed new proposals for practical maritime cooperation initiatives, which will strengthen preparedness to deal with challenges in the maritime domain as well as contribute to the implementation of the Annual Work Plan on the Implementation of the DOC for 2024.

The Meeting continued the negotiations on the Single Draft COC Negotiating Text (SDNT) and arranged preparation for the ASEAN-China foreign ministerial-level meeting. The Meeting expressed its appreciation and gratitude to Myanmar for its valuable and constructive contributions as the co-chair of the JWG-DOC and SOM-DOC meetings for the period of 2021-2024 and looked forward to Malaysia co-chairing the JWG-DOC and SOM-DOC meetings for the period of 2024- 2027. Myanmar had co-chaired the JWG-DOC meeting 11 times and the SOM-DOC meeting twice during the Coordinatorship of ASESN-China Dialogue Relations throughout the course.

The Meeting agreed to convene the 44th JWG-DOC Meeting back-to-back with the 22nd SOMDOC Meeting tentatively in August 2024 in China.

ASH/TMT

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