As the Philippines prepares to chair the Association of Southeast Asian Nations next year, one issue emerges as a top priority: the establishment of a code of conduct in the South China Sea that would be binding to the countries that adopt it.
This was the call of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on his ASEAN counterparts and on China last year at the summit in Laos. The urgency of addressing recent maritime incidents affecting ASEAN countries has not abated, and yet the establishment of a code has remained elusive.
The latest round of negotiations was held in Manila in April, with the joint working group tackling the draft COC and focusing on what are called milestone issues — the most contentious issues such as the scope of the code and whether it would be legally binding.
Another meeting on the draft will be held in Malaysia later this year,
The South China Sea is a critical trade route over which different countries – China and four out of ten ASEAN members (the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei – have overlapping claims.
In one part of the South China Sea, the West Philippine Sea alone, Filipino sovereignty and the rights and safety of Filipino fisherfolk are routinely trampled upon. Here, numerous incidents of harassment and intimidation occur in alarming frequency. The Chinese military has been asserting that it is protecting its territory, even as the areas which it says belongs to it are in the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Philippines.
In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled that China’s claims of a nine-dash line is without basis, affirming the Philippines’ sovereign rights on the WPS. China, unfortunately, refuses to recognize the jurisdiction of the PCA, much less international law, embodied in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
A binding code of conduct is necessary so that different countries can also assert their maritime rights in a way that is peaceful, respectful, and without harm to their respective citizens, economies, and the environment. It will also pave the way for a principled resolution of disputes that continues to respect international law and the rights of others.
We look forward to finalization of the draft and the establishment of the code as a result of countries’ common commitment to peace. Conflicting claims and disputes are not uncommon, but a code that asserts countries’ rights as established by the law and guides future conduct would be a milestone to celebrate — and live by.
