China warns vs. moves to craft new code in disputed sea

China on Monday warned against moves to craft a separate code of conduct in the disputed South China Sea after Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. bared that Manila has initiated talks with other claimants to formulate a new set of rules in the area, citing slow progress in ongoing negotiations between Beijing and a group of Southeast Asian nations.

Marcos, who spoke at a forum in Hawaii, said the Philippines asked other South China Sea claimants Vietnam and Malaysia on the possibility of crafting their own code of conduct without China, adding he hopes "this will grow further and extend to the other ASEAN countries."

"We are now in the midst of negotiating our own Code of Conduct for example with Vietnam, because we are still waiting for the Code of Conduct between China and ASEAN, and the progress has been rather slow unfortunately," Marcos said.

"And so we’ve taken the initiative to approach those other countries around ASEAN with whom we have existing territorial conflicts, Vietnam being one of them, Malaysia being another, to make our own Code of Conduct."

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning warned that "any departure from the DOC framework and its spirit will be null and void."

It was not clear how proposed separate code of conduct among Southeast Asian claimants would affect the ongoing talks to craft a similar document between China and the ASEAN.

"Formulating a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) is an important task for China and would ASEAN countries to implement the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC)," Mao said.

Instead of a legally-binding agreement, the Association of South East Asian Nations and China settled in 2002 for a nonbinding declaration that called on all claimants to exercise restraint and stop new occupations in the South China Sea.

The 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea or DOC, does not carry any provision on punitive sanctions and has failed to stop acts of aggression in the contested waters.

Finalizing the code has acquired urgency due to a series of confrontations between China and its smaller Southeast Asian neighbors with competing claims to the waters, like the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia. Other claimants include Brunei and Taiwan.

The Philippines recently lodged strongly-worded diplomatic protests against China after Chinese vessels blocked and collided with two Philippine vessels conducting resupply missions for Filipino troops stationed in Ayungin Shoal off the South China Sea.

Philippine military vessel BRP Sierra Madre – has been grounded at the shoal, also known by its international name Second Thomas Shoal, since 1999. The Philippines maintains a small navy personnel there to guard the territory, which is 105.77 nautical miles from the nearest Philippine province of Palawan and constitutes part of the country’s 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone and continental shelf as provided under a United Nations convention.

The US and other Philippine allies expressed alarm over China' series of aggressive actions, with Washington renewing a commitment to defend the Philippines under a 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty if Filipino forces, ships and aircraft come under an armed attack “anywhere in the South China Sea.”

The proposed code, also referred to by its acronym COC, aims to prevent overlapping claims in the potentially oil-rich region from degenerating into violent confrontations, or worse, an economically devastating major conflict.

However, negotiations for a final code of conduct have dragged on for years without a resolution in sight.

More challenges lie ahead as ASEAN and Chinese negotiators braced to tackle the most contentious provisions of the COC, including whether to declare it a legally binding pact or not and the scope of the contested region to be covered by it.

A Southeast Asian diplomat, who asked not be named, told GMA News Online that the Philippine proposal for a separate code of conduct was broached to Vietnam and Malaysia early this year.

The diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to lack of authority to discuss the issue, told GMA News Online that talks among the three countries are "ongoing."

In the same forum in Hawaii, Marcos expressed alarm on the "growing" tensions in the West Philippine Sea, using the Philippines' name for South China Sea that covers areas within its maritime zones under international law.

Marcos lamented the "persistent unlawful threats and challenges against Philippine sovereign rights and jurisdiction."

Citing another alarming Chinese action, Marcos disclosed that China is undertaking new construction activities near the country’s coast.

These actions, Marcos said, violate obligations under international law, particularly the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea or UNCLOS and the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of the Parties in the South China Sea (DOC).

China did not deny Marcos' accusations of its building activities, insisting these are being carried out on its "own territory."

Mao said the construction activities by China "is a matter purely within the scope of China’s sovereignty and other countries have no right to point fingers at it."

"China’s position and claims concerning the South China Sea issue are solidly grounded in history and the law," the Chinese official said.

GMA News Online reached out to Secretary Cheloy Garafil of the Presidential Communications Office for reaction, and will post her response as soon as available.—LDF, GMA Integrated News