Opinion | South China Sea code of conduct talks may not all be plain sailing next year
- Collin Koh says talks between Beijing and Asean on a code of conduct will continue, but while they do it may be well be business as usual for interested parties
As 2018 draws to a close it is necessary to take stock of what happened this year with an eye on the next.
To be fair, much has been achieved as far as Asean and China are concerned, especially over the South China Sea disputes.
The single draft negotiating text for the proposed code of conduct was agreed and the inaugural Asean-China Maritime Exercise was held.
So far, since the September near miss between the Chinese and United States navies in the Spratlys, there have been no further reported incidents.
But what developments can we expect in the coming year? To be sure, Asean and China will proceed with the negotiations on the code of conduct in early 2019, a process Beijing had earlier proposed would take up to three years.
Much may happen throughout the course of the negotiations, and in the absence of a provisional agreement restraining each negotiating party from doing things that may stymie the talks, it is prudent not to expect drastic changes.
