DFA: South China Sea code 80% complete, but ‘sticking points’ remain

MANILA, Philippines — The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and China have made significant progress in negotiating a South China Sea Code of Conduct (COC), but sticking points remain ahead of the regional bloc’s summit in Manila, Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro said on Saturday.

Lazaro said about 80 percent of the paragraphs in the draft agreement had been completed following monthly negotiations between Asean and China.

“At this point in time, 80 percent of the paragraphs … the document itself is finished. So there are just some sticking points,” Lazaro said in a press briefing at the International Media Center following a series of Asean ministerial meetings.

She later clarified that the figure had been rounded up from about 70 percent, emphasizing that substantial progress had been achieved during the Philippines’ chairmanship of the regional bloc.

On Friday, Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Dominic Xavier Imperial, the DFA spokesperson for Asean affairs, said about 70 percent of the proposed COC package had already been agreed upon.

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Imperial clarified that the figure represented the overall progress of negotiations rather than the proportion of paragraphs in the draft agreement approved by the parties.

He declined to identify the provisions still under discussion and could not say whether negotiations would conclude before the Philippines’ Asean chairmanship ends this year.

Lazaro likewise declined to identify the remaining contentious provisions, saying discussions were still ongoing.

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Asked whether the unresolved issues included making the agreement legally binding, she said it was difficult to pinpoint specific disagreements while negotiations continued.

“Because of the continuing discussions on the matter, it’s very hard to pinpoint certain issues,” she said.

Lazaro also declined to say whether the long-delayed agreement could be finalized during the 49th Asean Summit and Related Summits from Nov. 15 to 17, stressing that she did not want to preempt President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and other regional leaders.

“Let’s wait for the statement to come out,” she said when pressed on the possibility of concluding the agreement before the summit ends.

She said Asean leaders were expected to issue a statement on the negotiations during the summit but declined to disclose its contents.

Lazaro had identified four outstanding issues in the negotiations: the agreement’s legally binding nature, geographical scope, relationship with the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and terms of reference.

Asean and China agreed in 2023 to accelerate negotiations and finalize the COC by 2026, with negotiators holding monthly discussions this year under the Philippines’ chairmanship.

The proposed agreement seeks to establish rules to manage maritime disputes and prevent confrontations in the South China Sea, where China and several Southeast Asian countries have overlapping claims.

The Philippines has maintained that the COC must be consistent with international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos), and must not undermine the rights of countries that are not parties to the agreement.

The negotiations have taken on added significance amid continuing tensions between Manila and Beijing in the West Philippine Sea, where Chinese vessels have repeatedly challenged Philippine maritime operations.

Despite the remaining differences, Lazaro emphasized that substantial progress had been achieved during the Philippines’ Asean chairmanship. /mr