VIENTIANE, Laos — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday called on the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to fast-track the Asean-China Code of Conduct (CoC) amid China’s continued harassment and intimidation in Philippine waters.
In his intervention during the 27th Asean-China Summit here, Marcos said that core elements of the CoC, such as the milestone issues of geographic scope, the relationship between the CoC and the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and its legal nature to this day “remained outstanding.”
“In our view, there should be more urgency in the pace of the negotiations of the Asean-China Code of Conduct (CoC),” Marcos said.
President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. (L) looks on as Chinese Premier Li Qiang delivers a speech during the 27th ASEAN-China Summit, part of the 44th and 45th ASEAN and Related Summits at the National Convention Center in Vientiane, Laos, 10 October 2024. Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) convene at a summit hosted by Laos in the capital Vientiane, to tighten diplomatic ties and discuss the ongoing civil unrest in Myanmar and tensions in the South China Sea. EPA-EFE/RUNGROJ YONGRIT
The President also stood firm that “the definition of a concept as basic as “self-restraint does not yet enjoy consensus.”
“It is time that we tackle these milestone issues directly so we can make substantive progress moving forward,” he added.
Despite a positive development with China, Marcos said that “it was regrettable that the overall situation in the South China Sea remains tense and unchanged.”
“We continue to be subjected to harassment and intimidation,” Marcos said.
“Parties must be earnestly open to seriously managing the differences and to reduce tensions,” he added.
In August this year, Marcos said that Philippine vessels endured aggression and harassment from the China Coast Guard in the Escoda Shoal during a routine maritime patrol, and on the three separate occasions, it blasted horns, used water cannons and rammed maritime vessels.
The President also shared an incident where civilian fisheries vessels and aircraft were targeted by lasers and subjected to intimidation by the People’s Liberation Army missile ships of China.
He stressed that China’s aggression and intimidation “demonstrated the continued disregard of international law and standards, particularly UNCLOS and the 1972 Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS).”
“Such behavior is not unnoticed by our respective publics and the international community as well. That they will require a concerted and urgent effort to adopt measures to prevent their recurrence,” Marcos said.
Despite China’s intimidation, Marcos reaffirmed the Philippines’ unwavering commitment to deepening and extending Asean-China relations “in a comprehensive manner, thereby contributing further to the region’s long-term peace, development and cooperation.”
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