China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are committed to safeguarding peace and stability in the South China Sea, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Thursday.

A China-ASEAN joint working group held its fifth meeting on the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in southwest China's Kunming City from Tuesday to Thursday, the ministry said in a statement.

All parties at the meeting reaffirmed the importance they attach to the DOC, agreeing to make the South China Sea a place of peace, cooperation and friendship, the release said.

The meeting reviewed the progress of the implementation of the DOC, the statement said.

The next joint working group meeting will be held in Indonesia in March 2011.

The DOC was signed in 2002 as a guideline for China and ASEAN countries to follow with regards to the South China Sea issue.

The joint working group held its first meeting in Manila in 2005.