When restraint is tested: ASEAN, China, and the future of the code of conduct

Under the Philippines’ ASEAN Chairship, ASEAN leaders are meeting again to finalize a code of conduct (CoC) for the South China Sea (SCS).

- BLUEBOARD ALMA MARIA O. SALVADOR

In 2002, ASEAN and China issued the Declaration on the Code of Parties (DoC) in the South China Sea, which aimed to underscore the importance of aligning member states’ conduct in the SCS with the UN Charter, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation principles. ASEAN and China also declared that they would promote exercising self-restraint, which at that time was phrased to include refraining from escalation, from occupying uninhabited islands and features, and settling their differences. Going back to the essence of the DoC is significant, as it reveals the ASEAN’s bare minimum desires, which include peaceful settlement of disputes, maritime functional cooperation, and confidence-building measures.