In spite of rifts within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(Asean), Philippine President Benigno Aquino III said the bloc has taken a
significant step forward in the drafting of a code of conduct that would guide
talks on the members’ territorial disputes with China.
In a briefing for Philippine
journalists covering the Asean summit yesterday night, Aquino said he was happy
that there was growing consensus among the claimant countries in the Asean to
move toward the formulation of legally binding rules for the discussions.
Aside from the Philippines,
Vietnam, another claimant to parts of the South China Sea, and Singapore, a non-claimant,
have pushed their neighbours to “formalise the talks that will formulate the
COC (code of conduct),” he said.
Aquino said he considered this a
major development that contrasted with the slow progress of talks since the
signing of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, or
the DOC, a non-binding pact entered into by the claimants in 2002.
In the Asean, the rule is not by
majority, but by consensus, he said. “If even one objects, there’s no
consensus.
“So that position of formulating
the COC – whereas before there was no discussion of when to formulate – is I
think a very significant step,” Aquino
told Filipino reporters at Sofitel here, where he was billeted.
He pointed out that in July, when
the Asean foreign ministers failed to issue a joint communique after host
Cambodia blocked any mention of individual disputes with China over the South
China Sea there was no statement whatsoever on the COC. Manila has renamed part
of the South China Sea the West Philippine Sea.
“But now, publicly, the countries
are saying ‘let us formalise…’ There have been informal talks on the drafting
or the formulation of the COC.
Let us now proceed to formalise
the formal dialogues on the formulation of the COC,” he said.
“I think there’s a huge
difference between the two meetings (in July and in November). And that’s where
I became hopeful that after the 2002 DOC, the COC could soon follow,” Aquino
said. “So I think we should be thankful that our positions have [started to
coalesce].”
Aquino said it was enough for him
to have his voice heard. “It’s as though our job here is to convince our
brother countries” to start the drafting of the COC.
He likened the COC to an enabling
law. “You know the Constitution is the fundamental law of the land, but it
needs an enabling law. In my view, the COC is like that. Say, there’s a
philosophy you agree to among each other, but how do you manifest that in
reality?” he said.
DJ Yap
Business & Investment Opportunities
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd (SBC), Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Strategy, Investment and Management, focusing Healthcare and Life Science with expertise in ASEAN. Since we are currently changing the platform of www.yourvietnamexpert.com, if any request, please, contact directly Dr Christian SIODMAK, business strategist, owner and CEO of SBC at christian.siodmak@gmail.com. Many thanks.
No comments:
Post a Comment