WITH the Philippines as the 2026 Asean chair, it might impress upon many that security issues central to the Philippines like the South China Sea (SCS) will take centre stage in Asean’s agenda. Now that the ball is in the Philippines’ court, there is a natural expectation from its domestic audience that there will be substantial progress on the Code of Conduct of (COC) in the SCS to prevent further incidents such as restrictions of fishing activities and resupply missions, water-cannoning usage and ramming manoeuvres.
As chair, therefore, the Philippine government would be remiss not to maximise its convening powers to shape the outcome of the COC.
