President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called on members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states to fast-track the ASEAN-China Code of Conduct (COC) to advance meaningful progress amid China’s continued aggression and harassment in Philippine waters.

“In our view, there should be more urgency in the pace of the negotiations of the ASEAN-China Code of Conduct (COC),” Marcos said in his intervention during the 27th ASEAN-China Summit in Laos.

Marcos emphasized that “core elements of the COC, such as the milestone issues of geographic scope, the relationship between the COC and DOC, and its legal nature to this day remain outstanding.”

The President also stood firm that “the definition of a concept as basic as “self-restraint” does not yet enjoy consensus.”

“It is time that we tackle these milestone issues directly so we can make substantive progress moving forward,” Chief Executive added.

Despite a positive development with China, Marcos said that “it is regrettable that the overall situation in the South China Sea remains tense and unchanged.”

“We continue to be subjected to harassment and intimidation,” Marcos said.

“Parties must be earnestly open to seriously managing the differences and to reduce tensions,” he added.

In August this year, Marcos said that Philippine vessels endured aggression and harassment from the China Coast Guard in the Escoda Shoal during a routine maritime patrol, and on the three separate occasions, it blasted horns, used water cannons and rammed maritime vessels.

The President also shared an incident where civilian fisheries vessels and aircraft were targeted by lasers and subjected to intimidation by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) missile ships of China.

Marcos stood firm that China’s aggression and intimidation “demonstrates the continued disregard of international law and standards, particularly UNCLOS and the 1972 Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS).”

“Such behavior is not unnoticed by our respective publics and the international community as well. That they will require a concerted and urgent effort to adopt measures to prevent their recurrence,” President Marcos said.

Despite China’s intimidation, Marcos reaffirmed the Philippines’ unwavering commitment to deepening and extending ASEAN-China relations “in a comprehensive manner, thereby contributing further to the region’s long-term peace, development and cooperation.” Presidential News Desk