ASEAN and China: Many doubts and differences exist

(Baonghean.vn)- Recently, the Philippines completed its role as rotating chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) by reaching a series of landmark agreements at the recent 31st ASEAN Summit. Among them, the most important agreement was that ASEAN and China completed the framework agreement on the Code of Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (COC).

Both sides welcomed this as an important milestone towards the goal of ensuring the rule of law in disputed waters.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang shakes hands with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte at the ASEAN summit. Photo: AP

After years of unremitting tensions between the claimants, this is indeed a step in the right direction. However, the challenge is to ensure that the final COC document is properly negotiated and has an impact on the management and resolution of the decades-old disputes.

The Philippines, which recently handed over the rotating ASEAN chairmanship to Singapore, will serve as the ASEAN-China coordinator, allowing Manila to continue to exert significant influence over the course of diplomatic negotiations between the two sides.

Under President Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippines has prioritized improving bilateral economic ties with China in exchange for a softer approach to territorial disputes in the region. For Duterte, it is important for both sides to focus on a diplomatic solution to the dispute through mechanisms such as the COC document, regardless of the form it takes.

However, the details of the agreement are still a matter of debate. Fifteen years after signing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), the two sides have just completed a framework agreement on the COC.

In fact, the concept of a COC was proposed as early as 1996, within the framework of the 29th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Jakarta (Indonesia). At that time, countries in the region called for a legally binding COC in the South China Sea, with the aim of “laying the foundation for long-term stability in the region and promoting understanding among claimants”.

ASEAN countries attend the conference in Manila. Photo: AP

More than two decades on, it remains unclear whether the final agreement is legally binding or, like the DOC, simply a basic normative document. China insists that the document should state that there is “no major external interference” in the South China Sea, but it is unclear whether Beijing will demand that ASEAN countries stop security cooperation with the US or Japan in the region.

Additionally, the draft COC framework does not address the possibility that the final document could be used as “an instrument to resolve territorial disputes or maritime boundary delimitation issues.”

This raises the question of whether the COC adds any value, given that the DOC has set out a clear set of rules to govern the conduct of disputing parties.

Meanwhile, critics say that China is using the COC negotiations as a diplomatic cover for its large-scale reclamation and militarization activities in disputed areas, or that the COC could even be used to effectively “bury” the international arbitration court’s ruling between Manila and Beijing regarding the South China Sea.

However, ASEAN countries have no other choice but to put their faith in dialogue and negotiation./.

Lan Ha

(According to SCMP)