There are hopes that the Code of Conduct (COC) between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China may be achieved in 2026, an expert said Monday amid the recently conducted incident-free rotation and resupply (RORE) in Ayungin Shoal.

"I think that if China will not accept the legally binding character of the code of conduct (COC) it will be difficult to conclude so I think China should compromise ... and if China won't agree to it I don't think the COC will be concluded by 2026", Rommel Banlaoi said in an interview with Storycon on Monday.

The proposed Code of Conduct (COC) aims to set rules to prevent disputes in the South China Sea and worsening into a major conflict between Philippines, its allies and other countries at odds with China. The negotiations have suffered delays for more than two decades.

His comment came as negotiations at the level of technical working groups of China and ASEAN on the Code of Conduct were held from April 9-11 in Manila. They 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, an ambasador said. It was not known what was the result of the talks.

In a forum in Quezon City, Banlaoi said the tenth meeting of the bilateral consultative mechanism (BCM) of the South China Sea "yielded a very positive result"

"Both parties decided to have provision understanding in the Ayungin Shoal and since then there has been no interruption in the rotation and resupply mission of the Philippines in the area because of the provisional understanding", Banlaoi said.

He added that the Scarborough Shoal should be discussed in the next bilateral consultative mechanism (BCM) between the two countries and have a similar provisional understanding to avoid harassment like in Ayungin Shoal. Marie Manalili/DMS