ASEAN - Asean eyes better code in resolving sea claims

THE Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) is looking at incorporating the Philippine-proposed Zone of Peace, Freedom, Friendship and Cooperation (ZoPFF/C) into the existing Declaration on the Code of Conduct (DOC) to draft and implement a more binding code in resolving overlapping claims in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said on Tuesday.

Natalegawa, during a press conference, clarified that the Philippine-initiated ZoPFF/C was “not rejected” in a recent regional forum.

He said that the overall atmosphere during the Asean Summit in November was “how we will link the proposal to [the] DOC.”

“[The Asean’s stance is] don’t move out of the script from what has already been [agreed upon],” Natalegawa added. “It is not impossible.”

Natalegawa is in the Philippines to hold bilateral talks with his counterpart, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, and with President Benigno Aquino 3rd.

They will talk on bilateral issues, as well as cooperation on a wide range of topics and development of a robust democracy within Asean, of which both the Philippines and Indonesia are “pillars.”

The 2002 Declaration of the Code of Conduct, a non-binding agreement that was signed to reduce tensions in the contested waters, will mark its 10th anniversary next year.

“What better way to mark it next year than to [hopefully] have a COC [Code of Conduct]?” Natalegawa said.

A COC will be a more binding edict that will ensure all claimants’ adherence to specific implementing guidelines in the region, particularly the potentially oil- and minerals-rich Spratly and Paracel islands.

“Leaving things hanging and not addressed them is [detrimental] to the peace and stability in the region,” the foreign minister said.

“Asean as a whole has a very strong interest to settle the dispute peacefully in accordance with maritime laws,” he added.

The Spratly and Paracel islands, as well as their surrounding waters, are being claimed in whole by China, and in part by Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei Darussalam and the Philippines.

Tensions in the region rose in recent months as Vietnam and the Philippines both lodged diplomatic protests against China’s purported military aggression in the West Philippine Sea, particularly in the Philippines-claimed parts of the islands.

The ZoPFF/C proposes that claimant-countries clarify and segregate the disputed land features from the non-disputed waters of the Spratly and Paracel islands.

The proposal also opens up the possibility of engaging claimant-countries to jointly develop those disputed areas.

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