ASEAN and China aim for South China Sea 'hotline' trial in 2023

Bloc's chair Indonesia tries to mitigate collision risks amid growing tensions

20230310 China Coast Guard in South China Sea

A Chinese Coast Guard vessel sails near the Philippines-occupied Thitu Island, in the disputed Spratly Islands group in the South China Sea, on March 9. © Reuters

NANA SHIBATA and BOBBY NUGROHO, Nikkei staff writers

JAKARTA -- The Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China are aiming to conduct an exercise on a security hotline this year in an effort to prevent an accidental collision from escalating tensions in disputed South China Sea, the bloc said on Friday after a meeting with officials from Beijing.

"What is important is incident management [in the South China Sea]," Sidharto Suryodipuro, director general of ASEAN at Indonesia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told reporters. "What we can do this year is an exercise about a hotline."

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