COC DISCUSSIONS REQUIRE CARE TO MITIGATE POTENTIAL CONFLICT -- LAZARO
By Zufazlin Baharuddin
KUALA LUMPUR, July 9 (Bernama) -- Discussions on the Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea need to be approached with utmost care and deliberation to ensure it effectively mitigates potential conflicts in the area, as ASEAN works towards its goal of concluding negotiations by 2026.
Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro said as the COC carries the expectation of being legally binding, it is crucial that discussions are handled with greater care and caution.
“Nothing is easy, even in all aspects of the ASEAN discussions and narratives; nothing is immediate. There are a lot of challenges and a lot of discussions. So it is just taking its own pace.
“Even the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties, or DOC, took a good number of years to materialise. Now, even more so with the COC, since it already carries the notion that it should be legally binding.
“So it is more appropriate that we have to be very careful in its discussions,” she told Bernama and Free Malaysia Today on the sidelines of the 58th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) here, Wednesday.
She said the Philippines remains committed to completing the COC and should continue discussing the important details of the COC.
ASEAN aims to conclude the South China Sea COC by 2026, though whether it will be legally binding remains under discussion.
In a Chairman’s Statement of the 46th ASEAN Summit issued in May, ASEAN leaders have reasserted their unwavering commitment to upholding peace, stability, and freedom of navigation in and overflight above the South China Sea, amid rising concerns over regional maritime tensions.
ASEAN leaders, in the statement, have welcomed the progress made in ongoing negotiations toward a long-anticipated Code of Conduct (COC) for the South China Sea, which is seen as a legally binding instrument to ensure peace and manage competing claims among claimant states, including China.
The South China Sea is one of the world's busiest maritime trade routes and a region rich in marine and mineral resources, making it economically and strategically vital.
The 58th AMM and related meetings are taking place from July 8 to 11 under Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship 2025, themed “Inclusivity and Sustainability”.
At least 1,500 delegates from ASEAN and its external partner countries including Foreign Ministers, high ranking diplomats and senior officials are attending 24 ministerial-level meetings spanning four days.
This is the fifth time Malaysia has assumed the ASEAN chairmanship since becoming a member of the regional bloc, having previously held the role in 1977, 1997, 2005, and 2015.
-- BERNAMA
