THE Philippines is committed to fast-track negotiations and finalize a Code of Conduct (COC) of parties in the South China Sea (SCS) by the end of 2026.
In fact, the next round of negotiations will be held in the last week of this month in Singapore, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
As this year’s chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Philippines is prepared to facilitate more meetings between China and ASEAN members.
“Actually, we are holding, in coordination with other ASEAN member-states and China, monthly face-to-face meetings to increase the opportunity to sit down and negotiate,” the DFA said.
DFA Maritime Affairs spokesman Rogelio Villanueva said the country is committed to pursue the momentum in the negotiations for the substantive and effective code of conduct.
It will be recalled that China and ASEAN members signed the so-called Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea in Phnom Penh, Cambodia way back in 2002.
That declaration reaffirmed freedom of navigation, peaceful settlement of disputes, and self-restraint in the conduct of activities in the disputed SCS.
On the bilateral front, Villanueva said the DFA continues to engage China to manage tensions and resolve the West Philippine Sea dispute through peaceful and diplomatic means.
And we get this feeling that the Philippines and other concerned countries succeed in crafting an effective code of conduct for parties in the SCS.
Certainly, it’s a move in the right direction as part of global efforts to settle disputes as the world faces a variety of other major problems, such as climate change, hunger and poverty.
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