China, ASEAN hold three-day talks in Manila on SCS Code of Conduct — envoy

China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) held three days of negotiations in Manila on a proposed “Code of Conduct” in the South China Sea and Malaysia, this year’s chair of the regional grouping, expressed strong optimism progress would be achieved in the talks, Malaysia’s top diplomat said.

The negotiations at the level of technical working groups of China and the ASEAN member states began Wednesday and were co-chaired by Malaysia and China with the Philippines hosting the talks.

As ASEAN chair, Malaysia has been trying hard to make progress in the negotiations to try to bring them nearer to a conclusion considering the concerns in the disputed waters, Malaysian Ambassador to Manila Malik Melvin Castelino told a small group of reporters, including from GMA News Online.

He did not immediately give details of the outcome of the COC negotiations in Manila.

“Negotiations are ongoing. It's positive that we are doing it at a very early stage, in the first quarter and I think that's important,” Castelino said.

The proposed Code of Conduct aims to set some rules to prevent the intensifying disputes in the South China Sea from spinning out of control and worsening into a major armed conflict that could involve the United States, an ally of the Philippines and other Asian countries at odds with China. The negotiations, however, have suffered delays and have dragged on for more than a decade.

“Signing of course is something that we are hoping for but progress is the most important,” Castelino said. “Malaysia will push hard.”

“We are committed to this. We think this is an important element in our chairmanship and we want to work as hard as possible to come to a conclusion,” the top Malaysian envoy said.

“You may have different views but the good thing is they’re talking. It’s not entirely stalemate. Malaysia is an honest broker,” he said.

Four ASEAN member states - Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Brunei - are involved in the long-unresolved territorial disputes. China and Taiwan have similar claims virtually in the entire sea body, which is an important passageway for global trade and commerce.

“The idea is, because of the current situation, it’s more important that we conclude it and sign it. Countries agreed to it and, of course, the timeframe we hope to finish it as soon as possible,” Castelino said.

The Malaysian envoy, however, said that since “it is a multilateral negotiations,” progress would depend largely on how much the countries could agree to align their national positions for the sake of regional stability and harmony.

Diplomatic sources have said that the negotiations have advanced to the most contentious issues, called “milestones,” including the scope of the disputed waters it will cover and whether the Code of Conduct should be legally binding or not.

“We want to be seen as an honest broker. If you see my Prime Minister’s (Anwar Ibrahim) statement, he would always talk about centrality and unity and moving the agenda for ASEAN and that’s what we are doing,” Castelino said. “He was very clear, we must make progress on ASEAN, we must make progress on the Code of Conduct and we are committed to it.”

The Philippines will assume the ASEAN chairmanship next year. Conflicts between Chinese and Philippine coast guard and navy personnel and ships have particularly flared under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who has considerably strengthened the country’s alliance and military and defense ties with the United States.

China’s actions have also raised concerns elsewhere in the region. Vietnam and Indonesia have tried to push back Chinese fishing fleets backed by the Chinese Coast Guard in their Exclusive Economic Zones.

In June 2021, Malaysia strongly protested after 16 People’s Liberation Army Air Force planes flew over its EEZ, forcing the Malaysian Air Force to scramble jets to observe the Chinese aircraft which flew within 60 nautical miles off Sarawak state of Malaysian Borneo. Malaysia then described the ”intrusion” as a “serious threat to its national sovereignty and aviation safety.

The Chinese Coast Guard and Malaysian forces have also had confrontations for years over the Luconia Shoals off the Sarawak coast of Borneo and inside the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Malaysia. — BAP, GMA Integrated News