Beijing reminds ASEAN to reject outsiders during South China Sea negotiations

JAKARTA - The Chinese government supports the completion of the Code of Conduct (CoC) for the South China Sea with ASEAN countries can be completed by the end of this year but asks that there be no interference from outside parties in the talks.

"China is closely consulting with ASEAN countries on the text of the Code of Conduct. We hope that the parties can stick to the common goal, focus on common views, reject interference, and strive to reach the Code of Conduct as soon as possible," said Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun at a press conference in Beijing, Monday, May 11.

In the Joint Declaration of ASEAN Leaders on Maritime Cooperation signed at the 48th ASEAN Summit in Cebu, Philippines on Friday (8/5), ASEAN again encouraged the immediate completion of the Code of Conduct (CoC) negotiations in the South China Sea so that it can manage disputes and reduce tensions in disputed waters.

ASEAN leaders emphasized that regional maritime cooperation would be carried out by taking into account the UN Charter, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982, as well as other international laws and norms.

ASEAN also asked for an acceleration of the completion of effective CoC negotiations in the South China Sea approved by the ASEAN and Chinese Foreign Ministers in 2023.

"The formulation of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (CoC) is an important step in implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DoC), as well as an important agreement between China and ASEAN countries," added Guo Jiakun.

This, said Guo Jiakun, will help the parties to better manage differences, advance cooperation, and keep the South China Sea peaceful and stable.

In a declaration agreed to last week, ASEAN called for "full and effective implementation" of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DoC), signed on November 4, 2002 by ASEAN countries and China, to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea.

At a press conference after the summit ended on Friday, Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. expressed optimism that there would be a Code of Conduct (CoC) on the South China Sea that would be agreed by the end of the year and acknowledged that the situation in the South China Sea was "increasingly difficult to understand."

"So, once again, it is one of our aspirations as the Chair of ASEAN for 2026, by the end of the year, we really have a code of conduct. You know, ASEAN member countries are all different, have different approaches when it comes to the People's Republic of China, when it comes to Beijing," he said.

China says a number of reefs in the South China Sea such as the Spratlys (Nansha), Paracels (Xisha), Pratas (Dongsha), Macclesfield Bank (Zhongsha) are part of its jurisdiction but ASEAN countries - Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Philippines - also claim the territory.

To resolve the dispute in the South China Sea, in 2002, ASEAN and China signed a Declaration of Conduct (DoC) which contains a commitment to "improve conditions conducive to a peaceful and sustainable solution to differences and disputes among the countries concerned."

However, to reach an agreement within the framework of the binding Code of Conduct (CoC) has not yet found a common ground.

As the party that most frequently experiences direct conflict with the Chinese Coast Guard in the South China Sea, the Philippines, which served as the ASEAN Chair in 2026, also made the acceleration of the South China Sea CoC settlement a priority agenda.