A photo exhibition of maritime search and rescue cooperation attracted visitors' attention in the lobby of the conference hall for the 6th Senior Officials Meeting of China and the ASEAN countries on Sunday in Suzhou.

The exhibition was opened before the meeting by Liu Zhenmin, Chinese vice-foreign minister, and Sihasak Phuangketkeow, permanent secretary of Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

At the meeting on Sunday, China proposed to cooperate in setting up a hotline for emergency search and rescue among China and the ASEAN countries.

China also proposed a tabletop exercise of joint search and rescue operations. Thailand, Indonesia and other countries also proposed initiatives on maritime cooperation.

Zheng Haiyu, an associate consultant at the China Maritime Research and Rescue Center under the Ministry of Transport, said the two proposals regarding maritime search and rescue would be discussed in the following working-level meetings between China and the ASEAN.

"China has provided humanitarian aid to fishermen who were threatened by typhoons, regardless of which country they came from," Zhang said.

In May 2006, the Nanhai Jiu 111 and the Dejin rescued 330 Vietnamese fishermen stranded by Typhoon Pearl. It was China's largest marine search and rescue mission abroad.

On Feb 4, 2010, the Donghai No 1 Air Rescue Service rescued a sick Philippine seaman.

China and ASEAN countries signed the "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea" in November 2002, which called for the exploration of confidence-building measures including cooperation on maritime environmental protection, search and rescue, and combating transnational crimes.

Over the past 11 years, China and ASEAN countries have carried out a wide range of cooperation in the field of maritime search and rescue under the code of conduct framework, including humanitarian relief operations, joint exercises and exchange visits.

- Zhang Yunbi

(China Daily 09/16/2013 page11)