President Duterte expressed dismay over the delay in negotiations for crafting a Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea, presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said last night.

This will not be the first or last of incidents being used to stoke conflicts on the South China Sea.

Malacañang announced Saturday President Rodrigo Duterte accepted China’s offer to conduct a joint probe into the allision between a Filipino fishing boat and a Chinese vessel near the Recto Bank in the West Philippine Sea, saying the proposed setup should promote a swift resolution.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. yesterday rejected the proposal for China and the Philippines to conduct a joint investigation on the sinking of a Filipino fishing boat by a Chinese vessel in the disputed South China Sea.

Bitter disputes over competing claims in the South China Sea are likely to surface at the two-day Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting starting Saturday in this Thai capital after the sinking of a Filipino fishing boat in the resource-rich waterway.