Marcos opens ASEAN plenary as South China Sea code likely to miss target 

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. opened the plenary session of the 49th ASEAN Summit on Sunday, November 15, with a vow that all "priority economic deliverables" would be completed before Manila ends its chairship, but gave no timeline for the South China Sea code of conduct that it had hoped to conclude this year.

Speaking before other Southeast Asian leaders, Marcos said the Philippines had organized its chairship around "peace and security anchors, prosperity corridors, and people empowerment." Under security, he listed "advancing efforts on an effective and substantive code of conduct in the South China Sea in accordance with international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS." 

"Advancing efforts" falls short of what Manila set out to deliver: that the long-stalled code of conduct would become one of its most significant diplomatic priorities as 2026 chair. 

Dominic Xavier Imperial, the spokesperson of the Philippines' ASEAN chairship, said last week that negotiations for the code of conduct are now at "70%," without specifying the number of paragraphs that have been agreed upon.

But there have been no indications from the Philippine side that the original end-2026 deadline would be met, meaning talks will likely continue in 2027, when the chairship passes to Singapore. 

It was the ASEAN foreign ministers themselves that set 2026 as the deadline for the code of conduct three years ago.

Imperial said last week that while there is a "commitment to finalize," Manila was keen on ensuring its "position on the elements that we want to be included in the COC are there." 

"Our negotiators are doing the best they can to find a way to make more progress at the moment," Imperial had said at a November 13 briefing.

Progress on the code has long stalled due to unresolved issues on the agreement's geographic scope, the definitions of sensitive terms, and whether it should be legally binding.

That last point has stalled the talks for years as China has consistently resisted a legally binding code, which members such as the Philippines and Vietnam say is needed to hold Beijing accountable for its increasingly assertive actions in the South China Sea. 

On the economy, Marcos said the 19 priority deliverables include the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement, which was formally signed Saturday, November 14.

The signed agreement was formally presented at the opening ceremony earlier today.

Evolving economic challenges

Marcos, in his remarks, said the region's economies had to stay competitive "as technology, trade, energy requirements and supply chains evolve."  

"The next task is to ensure that this network delivers greater benefits for our peoples," Marcos said, adding that partnerships should "turn political goodwill into practical cooperation."

"We should, therefore, continue to deepen our partnerships on the basis of mutual benefit, translate comprehensive and strategic partnerships and plans of action into concrete cooperation," the president added.

He also urged the leaders to "build on the ASEAN outlook on the Indo-Pacific as a basis for open, inclusive and practical engagement."