BORACAY, MALAY, AKLAN, February 21 (PIA6) — The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is more determined to come up with a Code of Conduct (COC) on the South China Sea (SCS), according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
In a press briefing, DFA Undersecretary Enrique Manalo said that member-nations of the ASEAN have been united in coming up with a legally binding COC and the full implementation of the Declaration of Conduct (DOC) on the South China Sea.
“There is no change in the ASEAN position,” he emphasized.
He said that there is more determination now to proceed and try and finalize a Code of Conduct through coming up with a framework as soon as possible and proceeding to actual negotiations on a Code of Conduct.
“So work is expected to be even more intense this year,” he said.
He cited Article 5 of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC).
The DOC states that parties should “exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities that would complicate or escalate disputes and affect peace and stability” in the disputed waters.
The DOC, however, is a non-binding document.
The COC is supposed to be a binding document to ensure peace and stability in the SCS, parts of which the Philippines claims as the West Philippine Sea.
DFA Secretary Perfecto R. Yasay, Jr. will host and chair the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat (AMM Retreat) in Boracay, Philippines, Feb. 21.
The AMM Retreat is the first meeting of ASEAN Foreign Ministers under the Philippines’ Chairmanship of ASEAN this year, which coincides with the regional bloc’s commemoration of its 50th Founding Anniversary. (JCM/LTP/PIA-Iloilo)