PH to push for legally binding South China Sea code of conduct - DFA
Metro Manila, Philippines - The Philippines will continue pressing for a legally binding Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea as talks between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China move forward, a top diplomat said Tuesday.
During the Senate hearing on the Department of Foreign Affairs’ proposed 2026 budget, Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro said Manila’s position remains firm that the COC must have legal weight and go beyond the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), which remains non-binding.
“The DOC is just a declaration and non-binding,” Lazaro said during the hearing led by Sen. Imee Marcos.
“The Philippine position is that it should be legally binding — that’s still what we are looking into,” she added.
Lazaro said discussions among ASEAN and China continue to focus on key issues such as the legal nature of the COC, its geographical scope, its relationship to the 2002 DOC, and the meaning of “self-restraint.”
“These issues have been in discussion for quite some time,” Lazaro said, adding that the next round of negotiations will take place in Beijing in November. She said the Philippines is hopeful that “during our chairship, we can move closer to that goal.”
The DOC was signed in 2002 by ASEAN and China to encourage peaceful cooperation and self-restraint in the disputed waters. However, the agreement remains non-binding and lacks enforcement mechanisms.
Formal negotiations for the COC began in 2017, with ASEAN setting a self-imposed 2026 deadline for its completion. The Philippines has consistently pushed for a code that is substantive, effective, and legally binding, anchored on international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2016 arbitral award.
“We are hoping that during our chairship, we can move closer to that goal,” Lazaro said.
245 diplomatic protests filed vs. China since 2022
Lazaro said the Philippines has filed 245 diplomatic protests against China since 2022 over incursions and aggressive actions in the West Philippine Sea.
“The DFA has filed 47 diplomatic protests this year,” Lazaro said. “The latest diplomatic protest is what just happened recently in Bajo de Masinloc.”
The DFA also confirmed that the Philippines will file another diplomatic protest over the Oct. 12, 2025 incident in the territorial sea of Pag-asa Island, bringing the total for the year to 48 once submitted.
“We’ve been discussing this issue lengthily during meetings with the security agencies. There are other proposals, but probably I can give it to you in a confidential manner,” Lazaro told Marcos.
The DFA said diplomatic protests are among the country’s key tools in asserting its sovereignty and sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea. Lazaro added that aside from protests.
