Ex-Asean head: Consultation on code of conduct complicated

MANILA, Philippines - A former secretary general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) recently said that the consultations on the proposed Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea would be effective if claimant-countries would clarify their national interests.

Rodolfo Severino, head of the ASEAN Studies Center at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore and former Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) undersecretary, said the consultations are more complicated even as ASEAN has long been in talks with China and other parties.

ASEAN member states and China earlier held their first official consultation on a COC in the disputed sea during a meeting in Suzhou, China.

Severino noted the disagreement on how to reconcile the claimants’ interests and the rule of international law.

Although claimants in the South China Sea often justify their claims in high-minded terms, he said: “History shows that these countries pursue their claims for strategic and commercial reasons.”

He said that international law, by which all countries must comply, is usually regarded as a refuge of weak states.

“Which should prevail when they come into conflict – national interest or the rule of law? This is a difficult question. When pursuing its perceived national interest, a country’s ability to compromise is often reduced,” Severino said.

He said that neither ASEAN nor any ASEAN-China forum is an adjudicating body that can “resolve” sovereignty and other jurisdictional conflicts.

Senior diplomats from China and the 10 ASEAN member countries gathered in Suzhou, China on Sept. 14 and 15 to discuss the COC in the disputed sea.

The talks have provided a degree of reassurance about improved freedom and safety of navigation in the contested waters as a large percentage of the world’s trade, including shipments of oil, passes through the South China Sea.

Some regional powers also saw the event as an opportunity to keep a closer eye on China.

Severino noted that while the ASEAN has been calling for an “early conclusion” of a COC, Beijing has been demanding the implementation of the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.