ASEAN spox: All parties bent on pushing for conclusion of Code of Conduct in South China Sea

MANDAUE CITY - The spokesperson of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) expressed optimism over the discussions about the proposed "Code of Conduct" in the South China Sea here in Cebu province, a meeting which will take place a day after foreign ministers conclude their talks.

In a press briefing on Tuesday evening, Assistant Secretary Dominic Xavier Imperial said that it is difficult to determine the outcome of the meeting; but, he noted that this shows a ''movement'' from what was made during previous meetings. 

Imperial said all the parties are really bent on pushing for conclusions within the 2026 timeline.

''It's hard to say what outcome we will have but the important thing here is that when the parties sit down to do the negotiations, to continue the negotiations, what's important is we will have some kind of movement as to the last agreements that we had in the previous meetings,'' Imperial said.

''On the COC, I think what is important to underscore here is that the parties AMs and China, they are all onboard in terms of reaching a conclusion of the negotiations. So that's one thing to highlight. All the parties are really bent on being able to hopefully endeavor concluding the negotiations within the 2026 timeline,'' he added.

With every discussion about the COC, there's always progress being made, according to Imperial.

''There's always progress seen and that is very encouraging to see. We hope we're able to reach that goal very soon,'' Imperial said. 

The talks will take place from January 30 to February 2, Southeast Asian diplomats earlier confirmed. 

In August 2018, the ASEAN and China agreed to a single draft of the COC, with an agreement reached in November 2018 for both sides to finalize the document within three years, starting from 2019. 

No final document has been agreed upon since then.

This proposed code seeks to set some rules to prevent the intensifying disputes in the South China Sea from spinning out of control and worsening into a major armed conflict that could involve the United States, an ally of the Philippines, and other Asian countries at odds with China. —RF, GMA Integrated News