PH expects continued South China Sea Code of Conduct talks during 2026 ASEAN Summit

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The Philippines expects negotiations on the proposed Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea to continue during the 49th ASEAN Summit in Manila, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Friday.

DFA Assistant Secretary Dominic Xavier “Dax” Imperial, spokesperson for ASEAN Affairs, said negotiations on the proposed agreement between ASEAN and China remain ongoing.

“Ang maasahan po natin ngayon is yung pagpapatuloy na pag-negotiate dito sa COC. Sa Pilipinas po, mahalaga na kailangan ito po ay very substantive,” he told GMA News’ Unang Balita in an interview.

(What we can expect now is the continuation of negotiations on the COC. For the Philippines, it is important that it needs to be very substantive.)

“At saka yung mahalaga rin po para sa Pilipinas na yung COC na mapag-a-agree-han ng mga bansa sa ASEAN and with China is it's an agreement that will determine the behavior of all the parties at sea,” he added.

(Also, it is important for the Philippines that the COC agreed upon by the ASEAN countries and with China is an agreement that will determine the behavior of all the parties at sea.)

Manila also wants to ensure that the proposed agreement would not prejudice the rights of third parties or countries that are not part of the COC, according to Imperial.

“Gusto rin po natin na yung mga karapatan po ng third parties or yung ibang bansa na hindi part nito ay hindi rin po sila maaagrabyado dito sa agreement na ito,” he said.

(We also want the rights of third parties or other countries that are not part of this agreement not to be aggrieved in this agreement.)

Meanwhile, the ongoing crisis in the Middle East and its impact on Southeast Asian countries will be among the issues to be discussed during the summit.

Imperial said the discussions would focus not only on identifying the effects of the crisis but also on determining measures that governments can implement to mitigate its impact. —Joviland Rita/ VAL, GMA News