To prevent conflicts and maintain order in the South China Sea, it is indispensable to lay down legally binding international rules. It will be difficult to achieve this objective as long as China, which is continuing its self-righteous maritime advances, takes the lead in discussions on this.
China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have held a meeting of their foreign ministers, at which they agreed on a framework for a regional “Code of Conduct” aimed at preventing collisions in the South China Sea. The framework is said to include such principles as ensuring maritime safety and freedom of navigation.
The problem is that it does not refer to whether the code of conduct will have legally binding force. If it is not legally binding, the code cannot be expected to impose a curb on China when it carries out activities that violate the criteria.
In 2002, China and ASEAN signed the “Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea,” which advocated peacefully settling territorial disputes, based on international law. However, China unilaterally started work to build artificial islands and military facilities in that sea area, and this has prompted ASEAN to advocate devising a pertinent code of conduct at an early date.
China’s claims of sovereignty over the South China Sea were entirely rejected by a decision handed down by a court of arbitration in July last year. To fend off international criticisms, China became positive about holding talks with ASEAN over relevant issues.
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