BERNAMA

APLN Chair  Marty Natalegawa is quoted in Bernama, where he comments that negotiations for the COC have been ongoing for several years, underscoring the heightened necessity for its establishment at this juncture.

“We see a real potential for small incidents to escalate into bigger conflicts due to miscalculations.”

He says that the recent incident involving the Philippines and China “underscores the need for cooler heads to prevail” and for ‘acts of restraint to be demonstrated.

Marty emphasised the significance of ASEAN consolidating and bolstering its efforts to attain the coveted Code of Conduct (CoC), warning that failure to do so could result in the situation on the ground advancing beyond the pace of negotiation itself.

The full article can be accessed here.

Image: iStock/Andrii Brodiahin