31-5-2024 (SINGAPORE) The ASEAN Secretary-General, Kao Kim Hourn, has revealed to that a code of conduct aimed at minimizing the risk of conflict in the disputed waters is expected to be concluded between ASEAN and China by next year.
“ASEAN have been working with China on the current negotiation on [a] code of conduct, which we expect to conclude by next year,” Kim Hourn said in an interview on the sidelines of the Future of Asia forum in Tokyo last week.
The code of conduct refers to a set of rules reflecting international norms and principles, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), with an aim of achieving stability in the disputed waterway where many countries have overlapping maritime claims.
Intermittent talks between China and ASEAN have been ongoing since the two sides agreed to adopt the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in South China Sea in 2002. The code of conduct aims to make the rules laid out in the declaration operative.
Kim Hourn’s optimism was recently echoed by an ASEAN member state. Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Roi Sumirat stated on Wednesday that the negotiations had reached a “new stage” with the recent round of talks held in March.
“This new stage of negotiation is expected to be the finalization for the draft of code of conduct,” Roi said, adding that the talks had gone through 35 rounds in the last four years.
Initially, ASEAN and China had agreed to wrap up the negotiations by 2021, but progress was slowed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, under Indonesia’s chairmanship, ASEAN affirmed the two sides’ desire to complete the code of conduct within three years or less.
“We have to really make sure all the different interests and needs are reflected in the outcome documents,” Kim Hourn emphasised.
Among ASEAN member states, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei are official claimants against China. Indonesia is not a claimant, but has overlapping territorial claim with China over its exclusive economic zone near Indonesia’s outermost island, Natuna.
China has been stepping up efforts to enforce its claims in the area recently, with China Coast Guard ships firing water cannons at two Philippine patrol vessels near Scarborough Shoal last month. In April, China conducted military “combat patrols” in the South China Sea, an announcement that came in response to joint drills held by the Philippines, the U.S., Japan and Australia in the waterway.
Acknowledging the delicate situation, Kim Hourn said, “We need to work at [achieving a] comfort level of all different parties.”
The senior Cambodian diplomat emphasized that identifying areas of agreement and narrowing the gaps between parties throughout the negotiation process is crucial. “This is to be achieved through confidence- and trust-building.”
ASEAN foreign ministers are set to meet next month in Laos, where they are expected to discuss the progress of the talks. At a retreat in January, ministers stressed the need to create an environment conducive to moving forward with the negotiations on the code of conduct. The last negotiation for the code of conduct was held in Beijing in October 2023.
