MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte will push for the discussions on the proposed Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea when he attends the 35th Asean Summit later this week in Thailand.
Department of Foreign Affairs assistant secretary Junever Mahilum-West said in a press briefing in Malacañang the topic will surely be brought out but “intensive negotiations” could not be expected.
“I think it will be featured in the discussions. It is unavoidable kasi doon sa meeting na ‘yon ng mga leaders, they will have a tour of the horizon of what’s happening throughout the region,” Mahilum-West said.
She added: “So it will be discussed there and we could expect the countries to give their positions. But as to intensive negotiations, we don’t expect that to happen in this meeting, in these kinds of meetings.”
The COC will serve as the basis for negotiations of the code and is expected to push China and ASEAN for an agreement on a set of formal guidelines in the disputed waters.
“I wouldn’t want to preempt what the President would say but in terms of looking at the conditions, the situations on the ground, or at sea in the South China Sea, for example, I think the President would be expected to say something about it,” Mahilum-West said.
The code of conduct aims to prevent conflicting territorial claims in the resource rich and strategic waterway from erupting into violent confrontations or worse, an economically-devastating major conflict.
Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jin Ping earlier agreed to fast track the negotiations in finalizing the COC in the South China Sea./PN
