Thailand wants neither geopolitics nor competition between regional powers to affect negotiations between Asean and China over the South China Sea dispute, a senior diplomat says.
Permanent secretary for foreign affairs Sihasak Phuangketkeow said if the geopolitical situation is unstable, it could affect the negotiations between Asean and China on the code of conduct in the South China Sea.
He said the United States, which maintains a strong influence and interests in Southeast Asia, would like Thailand to play a more active role in the negotiations as the kingdom serves as the Asean-China coordinator.
The US would also like to have the code of conduct completed as soon as possible, and agreed that building peace in the region depends on how countries build norms amongst themselves, Mr Sihasak said.
The code of conduct "is part of norm-building to create relationships with one another. We tell all countries that the negotiations are an Asean-China matter, as powerful countries which have competing interests in this region should manage their relationships with other countries in the region," he said.
China and Japan should define their relationship more clearly as both nations have historical problems, particularly related to the Second World War, he said.
Mr Sihasak will chair the senior official meeting between Asean and China in April in Thailand to work on details of the code of conduct, but he also plans to talk with Asean member countries before the meeting to seek consensus and strengthen Asean's position for the negotiations.
The meeting will focus on urgent matters including the practice of search and rescue operations at sea, the setup of an emergency help hotline, and joint maritime activities.
All countries have agreed that the code doesn't need to start from scratch. It should bring the principles of the Asean-China Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, which saw its 10th anniversary in 2012, as well as the joint press statement of the Asean-China Ministers about the South China Sea, to use as the basis for their discussions, Mr Sihasak said.
The result of the meeting will be reported to the Asean Summit meeting in May to be hosted by the Myanmar government. Four Asean countries _ the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei _ claim ownership over various parts of the South China Sea. China and Taiwan also have overlapping claims in the sea.
Mr Sihasak said the situation in the South China Sea was better now and he hoped that countries like China and the Philippines would engage in more dialogue to prevent further conflict in the region.
"Implementing the code of conduct will take time and all countries should maintain a stable climate in the South China Sea, especially China and the Philippines.
The tension over the sea has decreased due to the code negotiations," he said, adding that there should be intermediate measures to build trust as the building blocks of the code.
The new Chinese leaders would like to present a "fresh face" to Asean and did not want the Asean-China dialogue to be dominated by South China Sea issues, Mr Sihasak said.
He said all countries agreed that the code negotiations should stick to building trust and not letting the situation in the South China Sea escalate, as the negotiations themselves are not the place to tackle the conflict.