MANILA — The formulation of the code of conduct (COC) in the disputed South China Sea may “take a little bit longer” due to differences of claimant countries, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Thursday.
Asked if there will be any significant progress on the code of conduct in next week’s Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Indonesia, Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Daniel Espiritu said since discussions were still underway, “we will have to wait.”
Espiritu added there were “many” roadblocks that hinder the COC’s completion and the document would not be finished immediately after 2 to 3 sessions.
“Definitely yung mga national interest natin nagkakaiba. Pero at this point I cannot exactly say that to you kung ano ang mga ito. Since there are several countries involved here and nand’yan din ‘yung ASEAN, we will have to come up with a compromise every step of the way,” said Espiritu in a Palace briefing.
“It has been happening for a very long time. I think it will take a little bit longer para matapos ito,” he added.
The COC is envisioned to upgrade the ASEAN and China’s 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea by having a pact to manage tensions in the waters where different parties have separate claims.
ASEAN and China completed the first reading of the proposed code between 2018 and 2019. It had been planned that the code would be mapped out by 2021, but the pandemic hindered negotiations among parties.
Espiritu said the Philippines may report during the ASEAN Summit next week what happened during the recent meeting of the COC joint working group in Manila.
However, they cannot expect anything definitive “in terms of legally binding or non-legally binding and other issues.”
Parties also continue to sort out the definition of the terms in the COC.
“It is a very methodical process so hindi dapat natin madaliin ito,” he said.
“Most probably, we will have to wait kasi hindi natin alam kung ano ang magiging actual laman ng COC and whether it is good for all of us to be legally binding or not,” he said.
“It’s not over yet because it’s a work in progress.”
Meanwhile, the DFA official said during their recent joint working group meeting last week, they expressed their concerns in China’s recent water cannon incident in the Ayungin Shoal.
“We stress that all these actions should be avoided, because they undermine trust, escalate tensions in the South China Sea and undermine the stability and peace in the area,” he said.
During the 42nd ASEAN Summit last May, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. sought to raise the finalization of the document, believing that it would be the “solution of all of these problems.”
Marcos had also hoped the COC will reduce the possibility of miscalculations in the South China Sea, part of which is the West Philippine Sea.
China claims sovereignty over almost the entire sea. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have competing claims to parts of it.
A July 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled that China’s claims have no legal basis.
Source : ABSCBNNews
