Opinion | South China Sea: can China-Asean code of conduct talks secure a new international maritime order?

Name: ‘South China Sea belongs to everyone’, says German navy chief
Uploaded: 2021-11-21T22:45:16.000Z
Duration: 37 s
Description: ‘South China Sea belongs to everyone’, says German navy chief

China hopes to forge a new model of ocean governance that integrates existing and evolving norms, but that will be easier said than done

Sticking points include geographic scope, dispute settlement, whether the code will have the force of law and whether outside powers can accede to it

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Mark J. Valencia

Published: 6:45am, 22 Nov 2021Updated: 7:17am, 22 Nov 2021

Changes in the international order often come about through war and its aftermath. But China is trying to change the status quo by peacefully stretching the envelope of the existing system.

Indeed, China wants to use agreement with Asean on a code of conduct for the South China Sea to build towards a new international order more consonant with its interests and goals. This may be possible if the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China are willing to compromise and use ambiguous language to paper over sticking points.

China is preparing the political ground. It has proposed to raise its relationship with Asean to a strategic comprehensive partnership – the highest level – and to cooperatively address maritime crime.

That will be considered at the summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Asean leaders today. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Wang Yi has been pushing strongly for agreement on a code of conduct, saying China wants to “put multilateralism [ …] into practice and make new steps towards building a closer community of shared future between China and Asean”.

Two weeks ago, Assistant Foreign Minister Wu Jianghao told the Symposium on Global Maritime Cooperation and Ocean Governance in Sanya that China is “committed to build an equitable mutually beneficial, fair and reasonable international maritime order”.

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‘South China Sea belongs to everyone’, says German navy chief

The hope, said government adviser Wu Shicun, founding president of the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, is that China and Asean can forge a new model of ocean governance that integrates existing and evolving norms.