Indonesia to talk sea dispute with China

JAKARTA - Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa has said that he will discuss the South China Sea issue with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi during his visit here on Friday, local media reported on Thursday.

"I am looking forward to receiving China's foreign minister during his visit to Indonesia and I hope that besides bilateral issues, we can compare notes on the South China Sea," Marty said on Wednesday.

Yang is scheduled to make official visits to Indonesia, Brunei and Malaysia from Thursday to Monday.

During his visit, Yang will co-chair with Marty the second meeting of the joint committee for bilateral cooperation.

Marty added that the South China Sea dispute demanded a common approach. "Otherwise, the risks of further tension are very much ahead of us," he was quoted as saying by the Jakarta Globe.

Foreign ministers of the 10-member ASEAN failed to produce a joint communique at the end of their meeting in Phnom Penh last month over disagreement on the territorial dispute between individual member state and China in the South China Sea.

But Marty then embarked on a shuttle diplomacy that resulted in a joint statement on ASEAN's six-point principles on the South China Sea issue.