The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the People’s Republic of China are gearing towards significant progress in concluding the long-awaited Code of Conduct (CoC) in the South China Sea (SCS) by the end of the year.
This was learned from foreign affairs secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro who disclosed that following the 59th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM), discussions on the South China Sea focused on advancing negotiations on the CoC with the 11 member states of ASEAN and China demonstrating the political will to complete the agreement within the year.
According to Lazaro, “what was given attention (in the discussions) was the code of conduct that ASEAN and China are moving towards amicable agreements that would hopefully conclude the creation of the code of conduct before the year’s end.”
The foreign affairs chief, who chaired this year’s AMM, cited that negotiations have accelerated this year with negotiators meeting every month since early January, reflecting the parties’ shared commitment to finalize the agreement.
“I think you know very well that we have monthly meetings. These negotiations have not been done this way . . . This is now part of the political will that we intend to finish this code of conduct, ” she noted to mention one of the key areas of progress that highlighted the growing consensus on the principle of self-restraint, which forms part of the agreement’s terms of reference.
Lazaro added that negotiations have also continued on the CoC’s geographical scope, legal nature and its relationship with the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.
She stressed that the proposed CoC remains anchored on the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), respects the rights of third parties and seeks to establish rules governing conduct and behavior at sea.
Asked whether recent developments in the South China Sea, including incidents involving Ayungin Shoal and Scarborough Shoal, could affect the negotiations, she asserted that such developments form part of the ongoing discussions on the CoC.