South China Sea: Asean and Beijing’s ‘unbridgeable’ conflict could undermine code of conduct for years

The code of conduct could take years to finalise, and skirmishes between China and claimant states could affect trust and reduce chances of compromise

Countries such as the Philippines and Vietnam should coordinate their positions on the code of conduct to better protect their interests during talks, one analyst says

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A Chinese coastguard ship patrols near the Philippine-occupied Thitu island in the disputed South China Sea in April 2023. Photo: AFP

Published: 7:45pm, 29 May 2023Updated: 7:57pm, 29 May 2023

Despite incremental progress on a code of conduct over the South China Sea, “unbridgeable” differences over claims to the flashpoint waterway between China and Southeast Asian nations could mean many fraught years of diplomacy ahead, analysts have said.

On May 17, China’s foreign ministry said the second reading of the code of conduct would be completed this year, following an agreement between Chinese and Asean negotiating parties in their first formal meeting since June 2021.

The consensus to do so was struck in Vietnam’s Ha Long city, at the 20th meeting involving senior officials from China and Asean.

Separately, the Philippines said it had agreed in a meeting with Vietnam last week to make the conclusion of a “substantive” code of conduct a priority.

Le Hong Hiep, senior fellow of the Vietnam Studies Programme at the Singapore-based ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, said while the agreement showed that negotiations were making progress after long delays due to the pandemic, it was “hardly a breakthrough”.

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