China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have agreed to jointly safeguard the peace and stability of the South China Sea at a two-day meeting that concluded in Sanya on Thursday.

The China-ASEAN joint working group held its second meeting on the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) at Sanya, Hainan Province.
   
Officials from China, ASEAN member states and the ASEAN Secretariat attended the meeting. They reiterated that implementing the DOC was important, particularly for the further development of China-ASEAN ties. The DOC was signed in 2002.
       
(Xinhua News Agency February 10, 2006)