Zeroing in on a Code of Conduct
Without a Code of Conduct, however, everything will just be mere talk. Everybody, including China, seems to agree that a CoC is the end-all and be-all of a harmonious region
Is the Association of Southeast Asian Nations merely a talk shop?
This question cropped up again in light of the regional forum's inability to ratify anew a long-awaited Code of Conduct in the South China Sea in the just-concluded ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
President Ferdinand Marcos put it succinctly when asked about the progress of the Code upon his return Monday: "Nothing new actually happened in terms of the CoC. We all just restated over and over again."
Twenty years ago, also in Phnom Penh, ASEAN and China signed the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, a non-binding agreement wherein the 11 nations agreed that a CoC governing the South China Sea was necessary.
Two decades later, the CoC is still being ironed out. The Covid-19 pandemic did not help any. It has even stalled negotiations. It has even deprived Beijing of the pretext to sell the narrative that "all is calm in the South China Sea" and that China and ASEAN are making progress on the CoC. A recent development at sea and lawfare suggest anything but harmony and calm waters in the controversial waterway.
The urgency of such a Code of Conduct cannot be overemphasized. Four ASEAN countries — Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines — have territorial disputes with China over different parts of the South China Sea.
Of the four, the Philippines has the most legal leverage after it won a case in 2016 against the Asian giant before The Hague arbitral tribunal. The ruling, however, has yet to be enforced.
Although Marcos, the ASEAN members, and China all agree that international law must govern the sea, it is sad that up to this day, the CoC has yet to be ratified.
We could also understand Marcos' seeming frustration over the failure to ratify anew the CoC.
Like the blind men touching an elephant, each country has a different perspective. With the mainland's long shadow over the region, many have expressed fears that ASEAN's member states are far too weak to confront China and too selfish to consolidate their claims.