‘Asean making progress on SCS code of conduct’

MANILA, Philippines -  The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has made “good progress” in the crafting of a framework for a code of conduct on the South China Sea, an official said yesterday.

Foreign affairs executive director for ASEAN affairs Zaldy Patron said there have been agreements on the items to be included in the framework.

“Whereas before, China and ASEAN member states do not even want to start discussion on the framework of Code of Conduct (COC). But under the Philippine chairmanship, we have seen a lot of movements in the discussion and China has already made an announcement that it’s also supportive of having a framework of the COC,” Patron said in a press briefing in Malacañang. 

“So that is something that we would like to take advantage of. It’s a step forward to having a full and effective COC,” he added.

Patron said that in the two meetings held by the technical working group tasked to draft the framework, the topics discussed included guidelines for avoiding tensions in the South China Sea. 

He said he could not disclose details as the elements of the framework are still up for negotiation later this month.

“There will be another meeting this month and everyone is optimistic that we are going to have this framework by middle of this year. So there is good progress,” Patron said. 

“We are hoping that by August this year, we can have some positive developments that we can announce publicly,” he pointed out.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, while ASEAN members the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei have smaller claims, along with Taiwan.

In 2002, ASEAN member countries and China signed the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea to avoid tensions in the settling of disputes and in preparation for the threshing out of a binding code of conduct. 

Officials had expressed optimism that a framework for a code of conduct would be completed during the Philippines’ chairmanship of the ASEAN this year.

But in the recent ASEAN summit in Manila, there was no mention in the chairman’s statement of militarization or China’s vigorous island-building activities in disputed waters.

China had reclaimed seven reefs in the West Philippine Sea and transformed them into islands with military facilities with advanced weapons system. These are the Panganiban (Mischief), Zamora (Subi), Kagitingan (Fiery Cross), Kennan (Chigua), Mabini (Johnson South), Burgos (Gaven) and Calderon (Cuarteron) reefs.

The island building has alarmed China’s neighbors, which cited its impact on freedom of navigation in the area.

No endorser

Patron also defended the non-inclusion in the chairman’s statement of the issue of reclamation and militarization in the South China Sea, saying none of the leaders of the ASEAN brought up the matter.

“We want to reflect as much as possible the discussion as accurately as possible of the leaders and there was no one who strongly pushed or mentioned anything about land reclamation and the militarization,” he said.

Nonetheless, he stressed the ASEAN leaders had reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace and stability, as well as freedom of navigation and over-flight in the region. – With Christina Mendez