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ASEAN-China Code of Conduct hangs in balance as pandemic delays talks
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic this year has become a major stumbling block for ASEAN and China to conclude talks on a code of conduct (COC) in the South China Sea by 2021, as negotiators were unable to meet physically to negotiate the instrument.
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Vietnamese artists perform during the opening ceremony of the 37th ASEAN Summit in Hanoi on Nov. 12. Vietnam is hosting the summit and its related meetings online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (AFP/Nhac Nguyen)
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n late 2018, during the China-ASEAN Summit in Singapore, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang proposed a timeline of three years to conclude talks on a code of conduct (COC) for the South China Sea.
However, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic this year had become a major stumbling block in reaching the target, as negotiators were unable to meet physically to complete the instrument.
Diplomats from the region have invariably complained about the security concerns that come with exercising diplomacy under virtual settings, with many countries insisting on using their own preferred “meeting” methods.
An Indonesian official has even said it would be very difficult to negotiate the COC text in this manner.
Read also: South China Sea COC can’t be negotiated virtually: RI official
In his remarks at the China-ASEAN Summit held online last week, Li said China remained “committed and determined to conclude the COC consultations at an early date”, but he glossed over the three-year deadline that falls at the end of next year.
Instead, the senior Chinese official called on all parties to overcome the effects of COVID-19 by thinking “creatively” and speeding up the talks “in a flexible and pragmatic way”, so as to prove to the world that China and ASEAN could properly manage the situation in the South China Sea.
