Foreign minister makes ASEAN debut as tensions flare (2)

"Let's hope this time around we will have a more quiet meeting than we had last year," Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa told reporters on Saturday.

Ruan Zongze, deputy head of the Institute of International Studies, said the top priority at the moment is to avoid escalating tensions over the South China Sea issue.

"China has settled land border issues with 12 neighbors through negotiations, so we have the confidence to solve territorial disputes in the sea through talks," he said.

Given that 2013 marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of a strategic partnership between China and ASEAN, and that the new Chinese government has made relations with its neighbors a top priority of its foreign policy, Ruan said the ASEAN-related meetings are a good opportunity for China and ASEAN to enrich their ties.

"For one thing, we should beef up exchanges and cooperation on security affairs to raise mutual trust."

In another development, Ruan noted that Wang said in a recent speech that there is a need to upgrade the China-ASEAN free trade agreement.

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