MANILA (The Straits Times/ANN): Asean and China have reached a provisional agreement on about 80 per cent of a long-awaited Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea, falling short of an earlier commitment to conclude negotiations by this year, Philippine Foreign Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro said on Nov 15.
Lazaro said at a press conference that negotiations were entering their final phase, but stopped short of committing to a deadline for completing the agreement, which Manila had hoped to conclude by the end of 2026.
Instead, she said the parties had agreed to continue working towards an “effective and substantive” code at the earliest possible time.
The announcement came as Asean leaders gathered in Manila for the 49th Asean Summit, amid continuing tensions over competing claims in the South China Sea.
“We are pleased to report the substantial completion of the negotiations on the Asean-China Code of Conduct,” Lazaro told reporters.
She said the parties had reached provisional agreement on about 80 per cent of the paragraphs in the draft COC, up from the 77 per cent she reported on Nov 14.
But some of the most contentious issues remain unresolved, including whether the code will be legally binding and its geographical scope.
Lazaro said negotiators had reached agreement on one of four major outstanding issues: the relationship between the COC and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), adopted by Asean and China in 2002.
Under the provisional agreement, the DOC would provide the foundation for the COC, which would build on its principles and introduce more effective provisions to guide the conduct of parties in the disputed waters.
The parties also agreed that the eventual code would serve as a platform for practical maritime cooperation, with activities undertaken voluntarily and in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Lazaro stressed that the COC was intended to help manage differences at sea, rather than settle territorial and maritime disputes.
The parties also reaffirmed their commitment to peaceful dispute settlement under international law, including UNCLOS, and to maintaining freedom of navigation and overflight. -- The Straits Times/ANN
