Is the South China Sea Code of Conduct part of the ASEAN Summit agenda?

MANILA — As the country gears into hosting the 49th ASEAN Summit next week amid tense relations between Philippines and China, the question lingers: Is the Code of Conduct for the South China Sea part of the summit’s agenda?

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., in several instances in the past, said it was his dream to finalize a binding COC before the country wraps up its ASEAN chairship.

Palace Press Officer Claire Castro acknowledged that the president hopes the code would be finalized, but said the Department of Foreign Affairs would know more about whether it would be discussed.

In an interview with ABS-CBN News, DFA ASEAN Office Executive Director Dominic Xavier Imperial said the COC remains the focus of ASEAN discussions on the South China Sea.

“What we really intend to come up here is to have an agreement on the behavior of states and also looking at how we may be able to properly implement this measures agreed upon by ASEAN and China,” Imperial said.

The issue of the Code of Conduct has been languishing in ASEAN for decades already, with the region unable to finalize a binding code in recent years.

In 2017, ASEAN and China formally adopted a framework for a Code of Conduct to guide substantive negotiations.

“Ang nais ng pangulo ay magandang makikipag-relasyon sa lahat ng bansa at kung anuman ang maaaring maging agreement para sa kapayapaan ng rehiyon, iyon ang nais ng pangulo,” Castro said.

(The president wants good relations with all nations and whatever agreement towards peace in the region is what the president wants.)

China will be represented by Chinese premier Li Qiang during the summit.