In 2017, the two sides announced a draft Framework COC, and in 2018, a Single Draft Negotiating Text (SDNT). This move was made by China after several months of relentless efforts to assert itself as the most powerful militarized power in the maritime area.ĪSEAN and China have previously made many joint statements claiming or promising progress in the negotiations over the COC. Specifically, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has repeatedly promised to resume negotiations with Southeast Asian countries on a COC, most recently in a statement at the beginning of this month. Indeed, Chinese leaders have actively moved to calm relations with affected ASEAN countries. All of these statements are in harmony with the stance of the ASEAN countries in opposing China’s maritime claims as illegal and invoking the PCA ruling in support of their positions.Ĭhina has so far refrained from retaliating to these legal challenges. The U.S., Australia, and most recently the UK, have also issued official statements on the South China Sea disputes. Nations outside the region have also weighed in on the disputes. To varying degrees, each also invoked the legal ruling handed down by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in July 2016, which ruled (among other things) that China’s “nine-dash line” claim had no validity under UNCLOS.Įnjoying this article? Click here to subscribe for full access. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), against China’s expansive claims to the South China Sea. The common point in these statements was the invocation of international law, particularly the U.N. Firstly, the Philippines responded, followed by Vietnam, Indonesia and, once again, Malaysia. clarifying their legal positions on the maritime and territorial disputes. In response to China’s response, a number of ASEAN countries sent notes verbales to the U.N. Get briefed on the story of the week, and developing stories to watch across the Asia-Pacific. As always, China immediately rejected Malaysia’s claim and asserted its sovereignty and rights in the South China Sea with vague and ambiguous arguments. At the end of 2019, Malaysia made a formal submission to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, detailing information on the limits of its continental shelf, beyond its 200-nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). As Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong recently put it, the region lives “at the intersection of the interests of various major powers and must avoid being caught in the middle or forced into invidious choices.”ĭespite the region’s difficult position, some ASEAN countries have taken the opportunity to assert their legal rights in the South China Sea. China is strong and aggressive, but is a neighbor the U.S., meanwhile, is supportive, but occasionally fickle. ![]() The growing U.S.-China tensions have put the ASEAN countries in a difficult position. “We’re not going to cede this region – an inch of ground, if you will – to another country.” “The Indo-Pacific is the epicenter of a great power competition with China,” he said last month. is actively building up the capacity needed to prevent China’s domination of the region. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said that the U.S. It seems that the current American approach in the South China Sea is to respond to China’s increasingly assertive actions through the deployment of its own military power. The South China Sea is perhaps the key flashpoint in Sino-American competition. In recent weeks, military exercises and the deployment of aircraft carriers by both powers have left regional observers fearing a potential military conflict. The region and world is currently in the throes of a fierce competition between the United States and China. But there are many obstacles that will have to be overcome before the long-expected agreement sees the light of day. ![]() During last month’s ASEAN Regional Forum, foreign ministers from the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) once again called for an expedited negotiation of the Code of Conduct for the South China Sea (COC).
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