MANILA, Philippines — Member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China have agreed to complete a long-delayed Code of Conduct (COC) for the South China Sea (SCS) by 2026, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced on Thursday.
DFA Secretary Enrique Manalo confirmed the shared political will to push the process forward, though he cautioned that consensus on key issues remains essential.
“We are all politically committed to having a code by next year, but we will see. We will try our best,” Manalo said in an interview.
Contentious Issues Still to Be Resolved
Manalo underscored that while all parties are aligned on the target timeline, negotiations remain complex due to several unresolved matters.
“Everyone has agreed that we would like to have a code by 2026, but we have to agree on the code,” he noted.
Among the critical sticking points are:
- The scope of the code
- Its legal nature
- Its relation to the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea
“There are issues that require consensus among all countries. It is contentious in the sense that these matters are sensitive,” Manalo added.
Recent Talks in Manila Mark Progress
This month, ASEAN and China held three days of negotiations in Manila, marking another step toward finalizing the COC. The proposed agreement aims to establish rules and norms to prevent maritime disputes from escalating into armed conflict, particularly in a region where tensions run high due to overlapping territorial claims.
The code is envisioned to serve as a preventive framework, especially amid growing concerns about the involvement of external powers like the United States and regional security dynamics involving China.
Ongoing Disputes and Strategic Significance
Negotiations over the COC have been underway for more than a decade, hindered by complex sovereignty claims involving:
- Four ASEAN nations: the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei
- China and Taiwan, both claiming nearly the entire sea
The South China Sea is a strategic waterway, facilitating over $3 trillion in annual maritime trade, and is considered vital to global commerce and security.
The Philippines, which will assume the ASEAN chairmanship in 2026, continues to assert its maritime rights. Parts of the SCS that fall within Philippine jurisdiction have been officially designated as the West Philippine Sea (WPS), encompassing areas such as:
- The Luzon Sea
- Kalayaan Island Group
- Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal)
2016 Arbitration Ruling Rejected by China
In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines, invalidating China’s expansive claims over the South China Sea. The tribunal concluded that China’s maritime claims had “no legal basis”, a decision hailed internationally but rejected by Beijing.
Despite this ruling, China continues to assert control over vast areas of the sea, prompting ongoing diplomatic and security tensions with several Southeast Asian countries.
 and China have agreed to complete a Code of Conduct on the South China Sea (SCS) by 2026 despite contentious issues that have delayed its creation, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Thursday.){kind=link}