Philippines hosts talks on long-awaited South China Sea code of conduct

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April 14, 2025 | 4:28pm

MANILA, Philippines — Manila voiced concerns on maritime incidents endangering its vessels in the West Philippine Sea during negotiations it hosted last week aimed at making progress on the ASEAN-China South China Sea code of conduct.

The Philippine side directly challenged actions that "posed risks to Philippine vessels and personnel" and "infringed on the Philippines' sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction" during the three-day talks on April 9 to 11.

These talks are part of the Philippines and other ASEAN nations’ renewed attempts to speed up the process of passing the long-awaited code of conduct that aims to prevent dangerous maritime encounters in the tense waterways.

The code has been stalled for over two decades since ASEAN’s adoption of a non-binding and largely unenforceable Declaration of Conduct (DOC) of Parties in the South China Sea in 2002.

The cause of the delay traces back to longstanding disagreements over its scope and possible legal status. China has consistently pushed for a non-binding document. Meanwhile, several ASEAN nations have advocated for an enforceable agreement consistent with international law.

Four ASEAN members, including the Philippines, are involved in the South China Sea dispute, with the Philippines dubbing the part of the waterway under its jurisdiction the "West Philippine Sea."

Milestone issues stalling progress. The negotiations continued to tackle the paragraphs of the Draft COC, including the so-called milestone issues, in line with the commitment of ASEAN and China to conclude a substantive and effective COC in an early fashion," according to the official statement released following the meetings.

These milestone issues include the geographic scope of the agreement, the relationship between the older DOC and the new code, and whether the code should be legally binding — points that have repeatedly deadlocked negotiations.

During the talks, the Philippines emphasized "the need to adhere to international law, particularly the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award.

Beijing continues to dismiss the 2016 arbitral ruling that dismissed its nine-dash line claim over the South China Sea.

Next steps. The Philippines also "reiterated its commitment to resolve disputes peacefully and to pursue constructive diplomatic approaches in managing differences at sea," according to the DFA statement.

The Joint Working Group on the Implementation of the DOC, co-chaired by Malaysia and China, is tasked with undertaking the COC negotiations. These talks aim to follow through on the 2023 commitment when the region’s foreign ministers agreed to work toward concluding the COC within three years or in 2026z.

Malaysia — this year’s chair of the ASEAN — will host the next round of negotiations later this year.