From October 6 to 11, Southeast Asian leaders convened for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Laos that was scheduled to include territorial disputes in the South China Sea. However, when the summit ended on October 11, the 10-member bloc was unable to find a consensus on the disputes.
China insists on sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea, which is rich in fishing stocks, oil and gas, and is also a key global trade route. In 2016, China rejected an international arbitration ruling which stated it has no legal basis for the expansive claims. China refuses to accept this 2016 UNCLOS ruling, of which it is a State Party to UNCLOS, and dismissed the ruling as “nothing more than a piece of waste paper”.
Tensions between China and the Philippines in the disputed waters have increased since 2023. In recent months, multiple confrontations have occurred, with Chinese vessels ramming and using water cannons against Philippine ships, resulting in damage and injuries.
During the ASEAN summit, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr pushed for the establishment of a code of conduct in the contested waters. He said it was regrettable that the overall situation in the South China Sea remains tense and unchanged due to China’s aggressive actions, which he said breached international law. he added that the Philippines continues to be subjected to harassment and intimidation.
At the summit, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who takes over the rotating ASEAN chair next year, said the bloc has called for an early conclusion to the code of conduct. However, is unlikely that the 10-member bloc can find common ground anytime soon, as member states have different and often competing interests and approaches, and conflicting goals.
Discussions on the code of conduct to mitigate the risk of conflicts in the hotly contested South China Sea have been going on for years and whether the code of conduct will be legally binding is a point of contention. There is a lack of unity amid ASEAN countries and they remain divided. Non-claimants are not invested in moving forward as they do not want to antagonize a powerful China.
China is ASEAN’s number one trading partner and its third-largest source of foreign investment. This is a major reason why a majority of ASEAN countries are not willing to criticize China’s actions in the South China Sea.
The claimants, i.e., the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei and Malaysia, are also not equally motivated. Often, the Philippines, and to a lesser extent Vietnam, are the only country standing up to China.
Vietnam condemned China on October 3, saying Chinese personnel assaulted 10 Vietnamese fishermen, damaged their fishing gear and seized about four tons of fish catch near the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea.
China has also sent patrol vessels to areas that Indonesia and Malaysia claim as exclusive economic zones.
On November 11, Indonesia stated that it does not acknowledge China’s claims over the South China Sea, while inking a maritime development deal with Beijing. The Indonesian foreign ministry added that the Chinese claims have no international legal basis and the deal does not impact sovereignty in the North Natuna Sea, Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Southeast Asian leaders during the ASEAN summit that the U.S. was alarmed about China’s “increasingly dangerous and unlawful” activities in the South China Sea. He assured ASEAN countries that the U.S. will continue to promote freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.
Photo credit: iStock/ Ashi Sae Yang
