Beijing, Mar 25 (IANS): China has established a joint research centre on the South China Sea to strengthen academic and institutional exchanges and promote countries in the region to jointly maintain peace and stability in the region.

The inaugural ceremony was held on Fridayin Boao in Hainan province, Xinhua news agency reported.

The China-Southeast Asia Research Centre on the South China Sea (CSARC) involves well-known think tanks in China and Southeast Asian nations such as China's National Institute for South China Sea Studies and Indonesia's Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

"We plan to make the CSARC a platform for discussing the South China Sea issue and a model for maritime research cooperation among countries in the region," said Wu Shicun, president of China's National Institute for South China Sea Studies.

Wu said the CSARC will invite famous scholars on the South China Sea from home and abroad to be researchers, and it plans to hold frequent international symposiums and academic exchanges.

While speaking at a symposium on the South China Sea, China's Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin reaffirmed China's commitment to a peaceful solution to the South China Sea issue through consultation and negotiation.