PH open to ''code of conduct'' with other claimants in South China Sea
Amid the ongoing negotiation for the Code of Conduct with ASEAN members and China, the Philippine government is also open to having a code of conduct with other claimant countries in the South China Sea "if they wish", Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said Friday.
In a forum with the members of the Foreign Correspondence Association of the Philippines (FOCAP), Manalo said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. wants to try to have a cooperative arrangements and to have some understandings and ways of cooperation with other countries in the region especially the claimants which includes the Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, China, Taiwan and Vietnam.
"In fact we have already had cooperative arrangements with both Vietnam and Brunei but these are really efforts to see how we can work together to cooperate in the maritime area and if there are any differences to settle them peacefully and in accordance with the rule of law and that was what the President was referring to," he said.
"We’re open to having similar arrangements with other countries if they wish, especially claimant countries," he added.
Manalo explained that "there are no formal codes of conduct because we (the ASEAN members) are all working as a group with China to have a Code of Conduct for the whole South China Sea".
"No one said negotiation would be easy because you're negotiating basically (with) 11 countries and it's not only a political document it's a legal document so naturally negotiations would take time. In the case of the Philippines our position has always been consistent. If we were to have a COC with the big C it should be effective and substantive," he said.
"But certainly, we are open to arrangements with other countries if they wish or even groups of countries as long as whatever arrangements we have or cooperate are in accordance with the rule of law," he added.
Manalo said details of such an arrangement will have to be discussed but he noted that "it should be cooperative in nature and it should be committed to activities which promote the interest of both countries and if there are any differences they should be settled peacefully and in accordance with the rule of law."
"I think those would be the basics as far as I am concerned. In the event we have any kind of arrangement not (just the) code of "Code of Conduct" it could be a code of conduct with a small "C", it could be maritime cooperation, the important thing is that the countries commit themselves to settle difference peacefully and to cooperate and I think that would have to be the basis of any arrangements that we make if we are intend to make such an arrangement," he said.
