Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo has renewed the Philippines’ call on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China to expedite the conclusion of the long-stalled Code of Conduct (CoC) in the South China Sea.

In a report by a wire agency, Manalo stressed the need for both parties to start addressing what he described as “milestone issues,” particularly the scope of the code and its legality.

“We have to begin addressing these important issues,” he said. “This might be the best way to at least move the negotiation forward.”

Manalo’s remarks come at a critical time as tensions over territorial disputes between Manila and Beijing in the South China Sea remain high.

The Code of Conduct (CoC), which was meant to provide a framework for managing disputes in the region, has made little headway since its inception in 2002.

The process, which is governed by the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, has struggled to address contentious issues such as fishing rights, resource exploitation, and the presence of military forces in contested areas.

Four of the 10 members of the ASEAN are primary claimants of the resource-rich South China Sea such as the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei.

In 2023, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced that the Philippine government had started negotiating with other ASEAN members such as Vietnam and Malaysia to formulate a separate CoC.

Citing the “more dire” situation in the South China Sea which includes the West Philippine Sea, Marcos said the Philippines took the initiative to discuss the matter with ASEAN members that are also claimant states in the disputed areas.