Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 25) — The Philippine government called for a “conducive environment” for negotiations on the South China Sea code of conduct (COC) to achieve headway.
During the third round of COC talks held in Manila this week, the Philippines maintained its call for “an effective and substantive COC.”
However, the government expressed concerns over recent issues in the West Philippine Sea.
The latest aggressive tactics that caught even the attention of other nations include China blocking the Philippines’ resupply mission for its troops on Ayungin Shoal by firing water cannons at Filipino vessels.
For its latest resupply mission, the Philippine Coast Guard said China still tried to “block, harass, and interfere” with the activity.
RELATED: PH completes resupply mission to BRP Sierra Madre
The Philippines said the incidents “undermines trust, escalates tensions, and threatens peace, stability and security in the region.”
“We stressed the need to have a conducive environment for the talks to progress,” the country stressed.
The third part of COC negotiations were held from Aug. 22 to 24 in Manila. The first two were conducted in Jakarta and Vietnam earlier this year.
