SINGAPORE — State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged countries outside the region to respect the efforts and achievements made by regional countries in safeguarding peace and stability on Aug 4.

Wang made the call at the 25th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) foreign ministers’ meeting. He noted that in doing so, countries outside the region could play a constructive role in helping maintain regional peace and stability.

With the concerted efforts from China and ASEAN countries, the situation in the South China Sea has been further stabilizing, and the negotiations on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea have achieved new important progress, Wang said.

The most positive development in East Asia is that the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue has returned to the track of resolution through dialogue and consultation, he said, adding that China is pleased with and firmly supports it.

Cold War mentality and coercion by force go against the trend of the times, and unilateralism and protectionism cannot settle any problem, Wang said.

While pointing out that unilateralism and protectionism is eroding the prospect of development and prosperity in the region, and the global free trade system has been impacted severely, Wang called for solidarity and cooperation among regional countries to champion free trade and multilateralism, and oppose protectionism.

The meeting passed a statement of cooperation on disaster management initiated by China.