Leaders of ASEAN member states pose for a picture at the 34th ASEAN Summit held in Bangkok, Thailand, from June 20 to 23. Photo: IC

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) said they "warmly welcomed" boosting cooperation with China on South China Sea issues in a newly released official statement, which experts say could lead to active and healthy China-ASEAN relations and highlights China's role in concluding South China Sea Code of Conduct (COC) negotiations.

ASEAN announced Sunday that they "were encouraged" by the process of negotiations on the COC in the Chairman's Statement released after the 34th ASEAN Summit in Bangkok, capital city of Thailand held from Thursday to Sunday.

ASEAN member states also said they hope to conclude the first reading of the Single Draft COC Negotiations Text by 2019 and ask their members to "exercise self restraint" and "pursue peaceful resolution" when dealing with South China Sea disputes.

"The Chairman's Statement shows that China-ASEAN relations are developing in a more active and healthy direction. China and ASEAN members are capable of resolving the South China Sea disputes on their own," Chen Xiangmiao, a research fellow at the Hainan-based National Institute for the South China Sea, told the Global Times on Monday. 

"China and ASEAN have reached consensus on fisheries, oil and gas, and joint military exercises through bilateral and multilateral mechanisms after the 2016 South China Sea Arbitration," said Chen.

Chen continued to stress that "the Single Draft COC Negotiations Text is thought to be more specific, distinct and have more restraining forces than the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in terms of crisis management mechanism design, maritime cooperation promotion, and mutual trust and dispute resolution enhancement." 

DOC was the first political document signed by China and ASEAN members in 2002 on South China Sea issues.

"This new draft restricts countries from both inside and outside the South China Sea region, such as the US, from taking provocative actions that would complicate and escalate South China Sea issues," said Chen.

"It also strengthens cooperation among countries in the region on spheres including marine environmental protection and maritime conflict control," Chen noted.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that China offered to conclude negotiations on COC by 2021 at a press conference in Beijing in March.