The Philippines’ foreign secretary says efforts among Asean members could bolster progress in negotiating a substantive code of conduct for the South China Sea.
“We have the basic negotiations between the Asean countries
and China, but this doesn’t prevent other countries from seeking maritime
cooperative activities with each other, because that, too, will help, even with
China,” he said.
“All of these could work and be supportive of the
negotiations on the code,” he told FMT.
Manalo, who is in Langkawi for the Asean foreign ministers’
retreat, reiterated the Philippines’ full commitment to the COC negotiations,
which began in 2018.
Talks about conduct guidelines began in the 1990s due to
China’s assertive claims over much of the South China Sea.
He said critical issues must be dealt with urgently, such as
whether the code of conduct would be legally binding, the scope of the code,
and its alignment with international laws, particularly the United Nations
convention on the law of the sea.
“It’s only in this way that we can really push and move the
negotiations forward,” he said. “We can’t do that in an effective way unless we
also start discussing the issues.”
Progress on the code has been lagging, while the
Philippines, one of the frontline states, has been increasingly vocal about the
importance of ensuring a substantive and legally binding agreement.
China’s claims over the South China Sea are disputed by the
Philippines, Vietnam, and Malaysia.
Last month, Malaysia became the first Southeast Asian
country to sign a comprehensive strategic partnership with Vietnam. It is
believed that Indonesia and the Philippines may soon follow suit, as Asean
members begin uniting more assertively against China’s claims.
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