The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China are making significant progress toward concluding the long-awaited Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea by the end of the year, Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro said on Thursday.

During a press conference at the International Media Center following the 59th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) and Related Meetings, Lazaro said discussions on the South China Sea focused on advancing negotiations on the COC, with the 11 member states of ASEAN and China demonstrating the political will to complete the agreement within the year.

“On the South China Sea, what was given attention is the code of conduct that ASEAN and China are geared towards… hopefully the conclusion of the code of conduct by the end of this year,” said Lazaro, who helmed this year’s AMM under the Philippines’ chairship.

Lazaro said negotiations have accelerated this year, with negotiators meeting every month since January, reflecting the parties’ shared commitment to finalize the agreement.

“I think you know very well that we have monthly meetings. These negotiations have not been done this way,” she said.

“Since the start of January, there have been monthly meetings of the negotiators, and this is now part of the political will that we intend to finish this code of conduct by the end of the year,” she added.

The Foreign Affairs chief noted that one of the key areas of progress is the growing consensus on the principle of self-restraint, which forms part of the agreement’s terms of reference.

She added that negotiations have also continued on the COC’s geographical scope, legal nature, and its relationship with the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.

Lazaro stressed that the proposed COC remains anchored on the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), respects the rights of third parties, and seeks to establish rules governing conduct and behavior at sea.

Asked whether recent developments in the South China Sea, including incidents involving Ayungin Shoal and Scarborough Shoal, could affect the negotiations, Lazaro said such developments form part of the ongoing discussions on the COC. Presidential News Desk