Marcos urges ASEAN, China to speed up dialogues on sea code of conduct

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PHILIPPINE President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. pressed Southeast Asian leaders and China at a regional summit on Thursday to urgently speed up negotiations on a code of conduct for the South China Sea, while accusing Beijing of harassment and intimidation.

Speaking in Laos to leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Mr. Marcos said substantive progress needed to be made and all parties must “be earnestly open to seriously managing differences” and reducing tension.

China and US ally, the Philippines have been at loggerheads over a succession of confrontations near disputed features in the South China Sea, with Manila accusing China’s coast guard of aggression and Beijing furious over what it calls repeated provocations and territorial incursions.

The rows have been heated and have raised regional concerns of an escalation that could eventually involve the United States, which has a 1951 defense treaty that commits it to defend the Philippines if it is attacked.

“There should be more urgency in the pace of the negotiations of the ASEAN-China code of conduct,” Mr. Marcos told the meeting, according to a statement from his office.

“It is regrettable that the overall situation in the South China Sea remains tense and unchanged. We continue to be subjected to harassment and intimidation.”

In a statement, House Speaker Martin G. Romualdez said Mr. Marcos cited “recent harassment and aggressive actions” by the China Coast Guard against Philippine vessels and aircraft.

Mr. Marcos stressed the need for a “concerted and urgent effort to adopt measures to prevent their recurrence.”

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) on Tuesday confirmed reports that Chinese vessels fired water cannons at its two ships delivering supplies for Filipino fishermen in Scarborough Shoal, which Manila calls Bajo de Masinloc.

Mr. Marcos said despite China’s aggression, his country would continue to exhaust all diplomatic means to manage the tensions.

“The House of Representatives stands solidly behind President Marcos in his steadfast efforts to secure a common ground for all stakeholders towards greater cooperation and security in the South China Sea,” said Mr. Romualdez, who was present at the summit.

“This summit isn’t just about foreign policy. The President is working hard to safeguard our natural resources, which directly affects our fishermen and the communities that depend on them for their livelihood.”

On the basis of its old maps, China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea and has deployed a fleet of coast guard deep into Southeast Asia, including the exclusive economic zones of Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Vietnam.

The idea of a maritime code was first agreed between China and ASEAN in 2002 but the formal process of creating one did not start until 2017.

Progress has since been painstakingly slow, with years spent discussing the framework and modalities for negotiations and guidelines issued to try to speed it up. Some ASEAN members are concerned the code of conduct will not be legally binding.

Marcos voiced frustration that parties involved could not agree on many things, adding “the definition of a concept as basic as ‘self-restraint’ does not yet enjoy consensus.”

ASEAN leaders will be joined on Thursday by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Japan’s new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, before Friday’s East Asia Summit plenary gathering.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japan’s Ishiba were scheduled to hold their first summit in Laos on Thursday, as the neighbors seek to deepen security and economic ties. 

TYPHON MISSILE SYSTEM
Meanwhile, Senate President Francis G. Escudero on Thursday said there are no plans yet to “permanently” keep Washington’s midrange missile system left in Manila in April, following joint exercises between their militaries amid growing tensions with Beijing.

“My understanding of the US defense system was only in connection with exercises being conducted with the United States here and that there is no intention as of yet to keep it here permanently,” he told a news briefing.

Reuters reported in September that the US has no immediate plans to withdraw its Typhon missile system from the Philippines and is studying its use in a regional conflict.

The US Army flew the Typhon, which can launch missiles including SM-6 missiles and Tomahawks with a range exceeding 1,600 kilometers (994 miles), to the Philippines in April in what it called a “historic first” and a “significant step in our partnership with the Philippines.”

Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Eduardo Gerardo C. Teodoro, Jr. has said Manila is considering all security options that would deter Chinese aggression in the South China Sea.

Beijing and Moscow have criticized the move to keep the missile system in Manila, saying it could fuel an arms race in the region.

DIPLOMATIC ROUTE
Also on Thursday, Senator Ana Theresia N. Hontiveros pushed for the government to double its efforts to pursue diplomatic solutions.

“If I’m not mistaken, all members around the South China Sea are in favor of a code of conduct,” she told a separate news briefing in mixed English and Filipino.

“It is just China that is against a multilateral process since they want a bilateral process.”

Leaders of the ASEAN discussed progress toward a South China Sea code of conduct and agreed that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) should be followed in settling sea disputes, Thailand Foreign Ministry spokesman Nikorndej Balankura said on Wednesday.

A 2016 arbitral ruling that voided China’s claims in the South China Sea said the shoal is a traditional fishing ground for Filipino, Chinese and Vietnamese fishermen. China has controlled the shoal since 2012.

The Philippines has been unable to enforce the ruling and has since filed hundreds of protests over what it calls encroachment and harassment by China’s coast guard and its vast fishing fleet.

Ms. Hontiveros also agreed the country should boost domestic defense capabilities over keeping Washington’s missile system, citing the recently signed Republic Act No. 12024, Self-Reliant Defense Posture Revitalization Act.

Mr. Marcos on Tuesday signed into law a bill requiring the Philippine government to pursue a defense posture reliant on local manufacturers.

Senator Joseph Victor G. Ejercito on Wednesday pushed funding of at least P100 billion for the Philippine military’s modernization program to acquire more missile systems and fighter jets to deter Chinese aggression at sea.

This also comes amid the Philippines’ two-week military exercises with the United States, and four other countries, Australia, Japan, Canada, and France, which is seen building the Philippines’ capacity to act in its own defense. — John Victor D. Ordoñez and Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza with Reuters