BANGKOK – Ten Southeast Asian leaders have committed to hasten the completion of a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea while renewing its call for self-restraint and peaceful and rules-based resolution of disputes in the vital waterway.
Association of Southeast Asian Nations leaders have recognized the region as an “area of peace, freedom, and security” while tackling the territorial conflict in the South China Sea in the latest “Vision Statement on Partnership for Sustainability” issued at the plenary summit last Saturday.
Among the regional leaders attending the 34th ASEAN summit is President Duterte who has questioned China’s sweeping claims in the South China Sea and described the sinking of a Filipino fishing boat by a Chinese vessel as a “little maritime accident.”
In the vision statement, the regional bloc has reaffirmed the importance of “maintaining and promoting peace, security, stability, safety, and freedom of navigation in and overflight above the South China Sea.”
They also agreed to “work actively towards the full and effective implementation of the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea in its entirety and the early conclusion of an effective Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.”
The leaders also issued anew a call “to exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities and avoid actions that may further complicate the situation, and pursue the peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, while enhancing mutual trust and confidence.”
The regional bloc likewise agreed to promote regional peace and stability by practicing and enhancing confidence-building measures such as the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea, the Guidelines for Air Military Encounters, Guidelines for Maritime Interaction, and the ASEAN Direct Communications Infrastructure.
These measures aim “to promote communication, mutual trust, and confidence, and reduce miscalculations and mishaps in the air and at sea,” the leaders said.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea and has stepped up reclamation works in the area in recent years, drawing protests from other claimant nations. Four ASEAN members, Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines, and Vietnam, also have claims in the area. (Genalyn Kabiling)
