{"id":16394,"date":"2026-11-15T08:20:05","date_gmt":"2026-11-15T08:20:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=16394"},"modified":"2026-11-15T08:20:05","modified_gmt":"2026-11-15T08:20:05","slug":"pact-on-south-china-sea-code-of-conduct-unlikely-as-asean-leaders-gather-asean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=16394","title":{"rendered":"Pact on South China Sea code of conduct unlikely, as ASEAN leaders gather | ASEAN"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A long-awaited pact between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China for a \u201ccode of conduct\u201d in the disputed South China Sea is unlikely to materialise during the regional bloc\u2019s annual gathering of leaders in Manila this week, analysts and officials say.<\/p>\n

The agreement would aim to manage tensions and prevent conflict at sea. But talks have dragged on for more than 20 years. In 2023, foreign ministers agreed to work towards finalising the accord within three years.<\/p>\n

That deadline fell on 2026 \u2013 the year the Philippines took its turn as chair of ASEAN. Under its leadership, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said negotiators have met at least once a month.<\/p>\n

But they have fallen short of arriving at a consensus ahead of the summit.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just want to say that at this point in time, 80 percent of the document itself is finished,\u201d DFA Secretary Maria Theresa Lazaro said on Saturday, adding that there are some \u2018salient\u2019 points that still need to be ironed out.<\/p>\n

She has previously said that geographical scope is one of the contentious issues. Beijing insists it has jurisdiction over nearly the entire South China Sea despite a 2016 international ruling invalidating that claim.<\/p>\n

The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia also have overlapping territorial claims.<\/p>\n

\"In
In this photo provided by the Philippine Coast Guard, a China Coast Guard vessel, right, fires its water cannon at the Philippines\u2019 BRP Datu Pagbuaya near Thitu island, locally called Pag-asa island, in the South China Sea on October 12, 2025 [Philippine Coast Guard via AP\/File]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A war of words<\/h2>\n

The Philippines would also like the accord to respect the rights of countries outside the region, according to DFA spokesman Dominic Xavier Imperial. Half of the world\u2019s merchant ships pass through the South China Sea.<\/p>\n

But the country may be caught between a rock and a hard place.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t win it because if you get a good document, you\u2019ll be accused of railroading or it would come across as self-serving. But if it\u2019s a bad document, the Marcos Jr administration will be seen as a weak government,\u201d Aries Arugay, a political scientist at the University of the Philippines, said.<\/p>\n

China has consistently accused the United States and its allies, who regularly conduct freedom of navigation operations with the Philippines, of interference.<\/p>\n

Tensions between Manila and Beijing have escalated since Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr took office in 2022. The China Coast Guard has repeatedly deployed water cannon against Philippine vessels and maritime confrontations have resulted in collisions and, on one occasion, a Filipino soldier losing a finger.<\/p>\n

In recent weeks, the two countries have been engaged in a war of words.<\/p>\n

In September, Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro\u2019s public response to a handwritten note rejecting the 2016 South China Sea ruling \u2013 reportedly from Beijing\u2019s military attache in Seoul \u2013 went viral.<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps basic decency and behaviour is what China needs to do,\u201d Teodoro, who has been barred from entering China, said.<\/p>\n

A month later, Beijing\u2019s ambassador to Manila, Jing Quan, told reporters that if China wanted to use force, \u201cwe may easily win. But no, we will not choose force. We love peace\u201d. The statement was made in response to a question about Teodoro calling China a \u201ctroublemaker\u201d, but which Marcos said \u201csounded like a threat\u201d.<\/p>\n

What followed was a barrage of social media posts by Philippine officials criticising Jing, with the Chinese embassy replying in kind. Senators called for the expulsion of the Chinese envoy.<\/p>\n

And, in late October, China accused Teodoro of a late invitation to the ASEAN defence ministers\u2019 meeting in Cebu. Without ample time to prepare, it said it could only send its Manila-based defence attache.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen that happened, I think the concern, especially on the part of the DFA, was, \u2018We don\u2019t want China not sending their premier. It would not look good on us as a host country,\u2019\u201d Lucio Pitlo, past president of the Philippine Association for Chinese Studies, said.<\/p>\n

With just days before world leaders were due to arrive in Manila, diplomats from both sides stepped in.<\/p>\n

In a phone call, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Lazaro, his Philippine counterpart, to rein in politicians.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Philippines should strengthen restraint over the relevant individuals and send a rational and unified voice on its policy toward China,\u201d Wang said in a statement released by the Chinese embassy in Manila.<\/p>\n

Lazaro described the conversation as having been \u201cfrank and constructive\u201d.<\/p>\n

However, the DFA followed up with a statement saying it found public commentary by certain government officials \u201cregrettable\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever personal convictions public officials may hold, their public platforms carry institutional responsibilities,\u201d it said. \u201cThey may not pursue preferred approaches toward China, or any other international partner, without regard for the consequences on the government\u2019s overall policy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Airing dirty laundry\u2019<\/h2>\n

Some analysts say the spat has further exposed division within the Marcos administration.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re airing dirty laundry out there. It doesn\u2019t communicate coherence. It doesn\u2019t project a unified stance. This could have been an internal memo,\u201d Arugay said.<\/p>\n

But Pitlo said the last-ditch diplomatic effort had achieved its objective. Chinese Premier Li Qiang is now attending the ASEAN Leaders\u2019 Summit in Manila.<\/p>\n

Despite this, Pitlo shares pessimism about leaders reaching a conclusion to negotiations for a code of conduct in the South China Sea.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think with all the concerns about trade protectionism, the disruption in supply chains, economic issues will be very high in the agenda. I think it will be a tall order to get the code of conduct done.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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A long-awaited pact between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China for a \u201ccode of conduct\u201d in the disputed South China Sea is unlikely to materialise during the regional bloc\u2019s annual gathering of leaders in Manila this week, analysts and officials say. The agreement would aim to manage tensions and prevent conflict at…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16395,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-international-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t