ASEAN hails start of negotiations for sea code, but quiet on China militarization

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Thursday hailed the adoption of a framework on the Code of Conduct on the South China Sea (COC) as “positive momentum,” saying it is looking forward to substantive negotiations on the code.

The ASEAN, however, avoided explicitly calling out China for its militarization efforts in the contested waters, only saying that the regional bloc “emphasized the importance of non-militarization and self-restraint” by all claimants.

The ASEAN only said it “stressed the need to adhere to the peaceful resolution of disputes, in accordance with universally recognised principles of international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).”

The regional bloc’s position on recent developments in the South China Sea is reflected in the Chairman’s Statement that serves as the main output of the 31st ASEAN Summit and Related Meetings held in Manila this week, after initially being left blank in an earlier draft.

It is also a reiteration of a common statement earlier made by ASEAN leaders.

“We discussed the matters relating to the South China Sea and took note of the
improving relations between ASEAN and China and, in this regard, are encouraged by the adoption of the framework of the Code of Conduct for the South China Sea (COC), which will facilitate the work and negotiation for the conclusion of a substantive and effective COC,” the chairman’s statement said.

The statement is likewise quiet on timetables, except for a joint working group meeting on the implementation of the 15-year-old Declaration on the Conduct of Parties (DOC) in Vietnam early next year.

“In view of this positive momentum, we looked forward to the announcement of the start of substantive negotiations on the COC with China at the 20th ASEAN-China Summit and the subsequent convening of the 23rd ASEAN-China Joint Working Group Meeting on the Implementation of the DOC in Viet Nam in early 2018,” it added.

Negotiations on the COC got the green light during the ASEAN-China Summit, making for what a Philippine lawmaker, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, called a “watershed” moment for regional security.

It has yet to be seen whether the COC will be legally binding, or if it will be similar to the 2002 DOC, but the COC framework finalized in August says it “is not an instrument to settle territorial disputes or maritime delimitation issues.”

China is reportedly continuing its militarization of areas of the South China Sea by building structures that would house missiles.

President Rodrigo Duterte has warmed to Beijing, even ordering the halting of Philippine construction in a sandbar close to a Filipino-controlled area in the disputed waters due to protest from territorial rival China.

He has also said he would not “taunt” Beijing with the Philippine victory in an international tribunal court which invalidated China’s excessive claims to the South China Sea. This does not mean Duterte is setting aside the victory, however, according to Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana.

Manila and Beijing are currently enjoying “warm” ties, which have been renewed after a particularly straining period during former President Benigno Aquino III’s term.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, in a state visit after the ASEAN Summit, also announced a P1.15-billion pledge to the Philippines for the rebuilding of Marawi.  —KBK, GMA News