President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said that he intends to push for a binding Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea together with his fellow leaders in the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) to lessen the tension and prevent possible miscalculations in the contested waters with China.
In an interview, Marcos stressed that talking about the issues in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) will not calm down until they have a COC.
He stated that the 10-member regional bloc and China have been negotiating a COC for years in order to manage tensions in the South China Sea, and the president intends to address the finalization of the COC as well as the bottleneck issues that are impeding negotiations.
Moreover, Marcos views that the separate bilateral negotiations between the ASEAN member states and China lead to complicated things that need to be resolved.
During last year's ASEAN Summit in Cambodia, Marcos pressed for the early conclusion of a COC in the South China Sea based on international law, which he said should serve as an example of how governments resolve their conflicts.

Meanwhile, Marcos emphasized the necessity of maintaining conversations with China about fishing rights in the West Philippine Sea without imposing timelines in order to prevent worsening the situation.

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