Metro Manila, Philippines – The Philippines hosted the latest round of negotiations on the ASEAN-China Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea last week, and took the opportunity to raise serious concerns over recent incidents in the West Philippine Sea that it said infringed on sovereignty and posed risks to vessels and personnel.

The negotiations, held in Manila from April 9 to 11, were convened by the Joint Working Group on the Implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (JWG-DOC), co-chaired by Malaysia and China. The working group is tasked with hammering out details of the long-awaited COC, aimed at promoting peace and stability in the contested waters.

During the discussions, delegates continued to review and refine paragraphs of the Draft COC, including several milestone provisions, consistent with ASEAN and China’s shared goal of concluding a “substantive and effective” agreement at the soonest possible time.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said the meeting provided the Philippines an avenue to “strongly call for the need to adhere to international law,” particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award.

“The Philippines voiced its concerns on the situation in the West Philippine Sea, especially with regard to recent incidents that posed risks to Philippine vessels and personnel, and actions by other countries that infringed on the Philippines’ sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction,” it said in a statement.

The Philippines also reaffirmed its commitment to peacefully resolve disputes and to continue pursuing “constructive diplomatic approaches” in managing differences at sea.

In 2023, ASEAN and China foreign ministers adopted the Guidelines on Accelerating the Early Conclusion of the Code of Conduct and committed to finalize the agreement within three years.

The next round of COC negotiations will be held in Malaysia later this year.