No end to South China Sea disputes without code of conduct

This aerial file photo taken in Jan 2017 showing a Chinese Navy formation during military drills in the South China Sea. — AFP

A series of events, ranging from social unrest in the United States, Hong Kong and much of Europe to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has infected more than 18 million people and killed nearly 700,000 of them, should prove that 2020 has so far been a very difficult year to navigate.

The South China Sea has not been spared the nail-biting tension of 2020. As claimant states are preoccupied with efforts to fight the pandemic, numerous worrying incidents have occurred within the maritime territory, exacerbating the animosity among the states. The presence of external actors has added strain to the geopolitical turmoil.