President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday, May 11, called for early conclusion of an effective and substantive Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea at the 42nd ASEAN Summit in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia.
“We will continue to urge all to abide by the 1982 UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea), as ‘the constitution of the oceans.’ We must ensure that the South China Sea does not become a nexus for armed conflict,” Marcos said during his intervention at the 42nd ASEAN Summit Retreat Session.
“We must avoid the ascendance of might and the aggressive revision of the international order. In an increasingly volatile world, we require constraints on power contained by the force of the rule of law,” he added.
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The Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China have been negotiating a code of conduct to govern the behavior of parties in the South China Sea.
China has been more assertive in pushing its claims to the sea despite an arbitral ruling that favored the Philippines’ case that Beijing’s claims of sovereignty had no legal basis.
Recently, a Chinese coast guard ship cut off a Philippine patrol ship carrying journalists off the Spratly Islands, almost colliding with it.
“Despite the continued incidents of Filipino vessels in our waters and attempts to deny and obstruct our ability to exercise our sovereign rights in our Exclusive Economic Zone, the Philippines will remain firm in upholding and protecting our entitlements under UNCLOS,” Marcos said.
Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Brunei also have claims to parts of the sea.
