Raising the need for China to account for its mischief in the West Philippine Sea, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was able to bring up to the regional level the demand for accountability as he and the Philippine delegation returned to the Philippines with a “successful” grade from the ASEAN Summit in Vientiane, Laos.

During the meetings, Marcos highlighted both the ASEAN member states regional and collective problems.

Representing the country’s interests, Marcos raised the increasing tension in the South China Sea which affects not only the Philippines but neighboring countries as well.

He 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 the disputed waters.

“In our view, there should be more urgency in the pace of the negotiations of the ASEAN-China Code of Conduct,” Marcos said in his intervention during the 27th ASEAN-China Summit.

Marcos underscored the core elements of the CoC, including the “milestone issues of geographic scope, the relationship between the CoC and DoC, and its legal nature that to this day remain outstanding.”

Difficult issues faced

He said that it was time to tackle the issues directly to make progress moving forward.

Marcos lamented that while there is a positive development with Beijing, the overall situation in the South China Sea remains to be “tense and unchanged.”

“We continue to be subjected to harassment and intimidation,” he said. “Parties must be earnestly open to seriously managing the differences and to reduce tensions.”

Despite this, Marcos said the country remains committed to deepening and extending ASEAN-China relations comprehensively, thereby contributing further to the region’s long-term peace, development and cooperation.

In addition, Marcos met with like-minded leaders and reached a consensus on international issues and emerging challenges, especially in the West Philippine Sea.

“I reaffirmed that the Philippines will continue to defend our sovereignty, our sovereign rights and jurisdiction in the West Philippine Sea. And of course, all Philippine actions will be done in accordance with international law,” he said in his arrival speech on Friday.

Trade meetings

Marcos also took time to meet with other nation’s leaders to strengthen the bilateral ties between countries.

On the sidelines of the Summits, he met with Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh where the two discussed the pact they made two years ago that has produced results.