Published October 11, 2024
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. called on the ASEAN member states to fast-track the ASEAN-China Code of Conduct (COC) to advance meaningful progress amid China’s continued aggression and harassment in Philippine waters.
“In our view, there should be more urgency in the pace of the negotiations of the ASEAN-China Code of Conduct (COC),” President Marcos said in his intervention during the 27th ASEAN-China Summit in Laos.
President Marcos emphasized that “core elements of the COC, such as the milestone issues of geographic scope, the relationship between the COC and DOC, and its legal nature to this day remain outstanding.”
The President also stood firm that “the definition of a concept as basic as “self-restraint” does not yet enjoy consensus.”
“It is time that we tackle these milestone issues directly so we can make substantive progress moving forward,” Chief Executive added.
Despite a positive development with China, President Marcos said that “it is regrettable that the overall situation in the South China Sea remains tense and unchanged.”
“We continue to be subjected to harassment and intimidation,” President Marcos said.
“Parties must be earnestly open to seriously managing the differences and to reduce tensions,” he added.
READ FULL ARTICLE
SOURCE: www.pco.gov.ph
RELATED: Philippines challenges China over South China Sea at ASEAN meet
Published October 10, 2024
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos challenged Chinese Premier Li Qiang over recent clashes in the South China Sea at regional summit talks on Thursday, as fears grow that conflict could erupt in the disputed waterway.
Li met the leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at their gathering in Laos after a day of discussions dominated by the Myanmar civil war.
Recent months have seen a spate of violent clashes between Chinese and Philippine vessels in waters around disputed reefs and islands in the South China Sea.
Marcos raised the issue in the meeting with Li, arguing that “you cannot separate economic cooperation from political security,” a Southeast Asian diplomat who attended the meeting told reporters.
The Li summit was largely focused on trade, and came the same day the premier met with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese who said Beijing has agreed to lift sanctions on the lucrative lobster industry.
But Marcos told the meeting that ASEAN and China cannot pretend that all is well on the economic front when there are tensions on the political front, the Southeast Asian diplomat said.
Marcos also said that both sides should hasten talks on a code of conduct in the sea.
“There should be more urgency in the pace of the negotiations of the ASEAN-China Code of Conduct (COC),” he said.
READ FULL ARTICLE
SOURCE: www.abs-cbn.com
