Marcos hopeful on sea pact within year

SINGAPORE — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he hopes the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China can finalize a South China Sea Code of Conduct (CoC) by December, saying negotiations were making good progress despite continuing disagreements.

Speaking with Steve Forbes, chairman and editor-in-chief of Forbes Media, at the 24th Forbes Global CEO Conference here, Marcos said the CoC is important in preventing incidents and maintaining freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.

“The code of conduct is very, very important. And we’re working very, very hard. We’re making good progress, as a matter of fact, in terms of the code of conduct,” Marcos said.

As ASEAN chair this year, Marcos said the Philippines would work toward finalizing the CoC by the end of 2026.

ASEAN and China have been negotiating the CoC for more than two decades. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam have overlapping claims with China in the South China Sea.

Marcos said all ASEAN member states agree that a CoC is needed to prevent incidents and preserve freedom of navigation.

He said more than 60 percent of global commerce passes through the South China Sea, making peace and freedom of navigation important not only to countries in the region but also to global commerce.

Clashes

The CoC negotiations come amid continuing confrontations between Philippine and Chinese vessels in the South China Sea. A 2016 ruling by the inter-governmental Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) rejected China’s claimed historic rights within a nine-dash line and affirmed Philippine sovereign rights in its EEZ, including Ayungin Shoal.

In September, a China Coast Guard vessel collided with the Philippine BFAR vessel BRP Datu Magat Salamat near Sabina Shoal, while Chinese coast guard and naval vessels later interfered with a Philippine resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal, threatening a serious collision.

Marcos acknowledged that the negotiations could be frustrating, saying that even the definitions of ordinary words had become points of contention.

Still, he said the Philippines remained determined to reach an agreement and de-escalate tensions. He said the dispute had become particularly important to Filipino fishermen who had lost access to their traditional fishing grounds.

“In 2022, it became an issue because our fishermen were losing their livelihood. And the fishermen were coming to us to be their leaders saying, what are you going to do about this?” Marcos said.

He said the fishermen had been fishing in the area for generations but were suddenly prevented from doing so.

Duty as President

“That is how important it’s become, and that’s how far this conflict has reached and how deeply embedded it now is in the concerns of not only the government but of every single citizen that is a stakeholder in this issue,” he said.

Marcos vows to defend territory

The President reiterated that he would uphold the Philippine Constitution and sovereignty amid the unresolved territorial dispute with China in the West Philippine Sea.

He said international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), clearly establishes the Philippines’ rights over the areas it considers part of its sovereign territory and exclusive economic zone.

“It is very, very simple in our view. It is by all rules-based understandings and agreements, by international law, especially the UNCLOS, it is very, very clear that these areas are part of Philippine sovereign territory and part of our economic zone. Therefore, it is imperative for us. I took an oath to defend the Constitution of the Philippines,” Marcos said.

He said defending the country’s territory was his duty as president.

“And that’s what we are trying to do. But, of course, I don’t know if we will, if we can find a resolution to the problem,” he added. -30-