President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. bared Tuesday that he would urge his fellow Southeast Asian leaders during the 42nd ASEAN Summit to find a way to push for the finalization of Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea (SCS) to ease tension in the contested waters.
“So yes, I will bring it up again because when we talk about – when we talk about the issues on the West Philippine Sea, South China Sea, hindi magkakalma ‘yan hanggang mayroon na tayong Code of Conduct,” President Marcos said when asked by reporters if he would make a renewed push for a COC during the summit.
The President said having a binding COC will makes things clearer and reduce the possibility of miscalculations, hoping the regional bloc would be able to address the issues hindering the conclusion of negotiations which is a key element in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) centrality.
“Solution of all of these problems is really the new Code of Conduct. Kaya paulit-ulit ko laging sinasabi ‘yan. In every forum I can find, sinasabi ko Code of Conduct kailangan nating tapusin,” he said.
Asked about the challenges in coming up with a binding COC, the President said what complicates things are the separate bilateral negotiations between ASEAN member-states and China and these have to be resolved.
Marcos acknowledged that the negotiations for the COC in the SCS is “separate from the ASEAN Summit.”
“Ah no, the Code of Conduct – the negotiation of the Code of Conduct is separate from the ASEAN Summits. They negotiate in another way. So that’s not something that we will be done here at this time. What we need to do is look kung wala pa, ano ba talaga ang nagiging problema? This is what we have to discuss amongst ourselves. What is the problem? What is the bottleneck? Where are we having a hard time? How can we fix that problem?” he said.
“That’s what these meetings should be for and I think we’ll get to that point because everybody wants this to work, everybody wants to have a Code of Conduct. So what’s getting in the way, let’s talk about it,” he added.
During the ASEAN Summit last year, President Marcos Jr. pushed for the early conclusion of a COC in the South China Sea based on international law, which he said should be an example of how states manage their differences.
“You know, iba-ibang bansa ‘yan eh and everyone has a different agenda. But if we talk about it and with a common thought in mind, I think we will get there. But I hope sooner rather than later because the tensions are increasing,” the President said.
The President arrived in Indonesia Tuesday afternoon to attend the regional gathering. Those accompanying him include House Speaker Martin Romualdez and former president and Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. PND
