Code of Conduct in the South China Sea completion could take 'a little bit longer' —DFA exec

An official from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Thursday that the completion of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea could still take some time.

At a Palace press briefing, Office of ASEAN Affairs Assistant Secretary Daniel Espiritu was asked if there will be significant development on the matter during the 43rd ASEAN Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia next week.

"It's been happening for a long time, I think it will take a little bit longer para matapos ito," Espiritu said.

The DFA official admitted that there have been a lot of impediments on the completion of the COC, including the nations' varying national interests.

Espiritu also said the discussions on this issue should not be rushed.

"Well, marami... definitely 'yung mga national interests natin medyo nagkakaiba 'no. Pero at this point, I cannot exactly say that to you kung ano itong mga ito so since there are several countries involved here and nandiyan din 'yung ASEAN, we have to come up with a compromise every step of the way," he said.

(There's a lot [of impediments] including the different national interests. At this point, I cannot exactly say what are those but since there are several countries and the ASEAN is also involved, we have to come up with a compromise every step of the way.)

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. is set to participate in the upcoming ASEAN summit as he will leave Manila next week. Espiritu said the chief executive would push for the Philippines, interest during the Summit as well as in other meetings with heads of state.

During the 42nd ASEAN Summit in May, Marcos said all ASEAN member states raised the COC as they hoped that it will be concluded as a legally binding pact.

The proposed Code of Conduct aims to prevent overlapping claims in the potentially oil-rich region from degenerating into violent confrontations, or worse, an economically devastating major conflict.

In October 2022, then ASEAN Secretary General Dato Paduka Lim Jock Hoi said the regional organization and China were working on the second draft of the COC.

“I think we are done with the first draft, we are going to the second so we hope that negotiations on COC will continue in physical manner as we are able to open our economy. (This is a) work in progress and hope that this can be done in expeditious manner,” Lim said in a video conference during the 11th Editors’ Roundtable organized by Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) and Khmer Times in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.—AOL, GMA Integrated News