On February 15, Philippine Foreign Minister Enrique Manalo said that tensions in the East Sea should not be seen as an aspect of strategic competition between the US and China.
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| An area of the South China Sea seen from above. (Source: VCG/Global Times) |
According to Foreign Secretary Manalo, the Philippines and other countries have legitimate rights and interests that need to be protected and the position he mentioned above will “not help in understanding the situation in the South China Sea correctly.”
The diplomat also affirmed that the Philippines is committed to pursuing negotiations on a code of conduct (COC) between China and Southeast Asian countries to prevent confrontation in the East Sea.
The idea of a code of conduct has been incubated for more than two decades, but the parties only committed to start negotiations in 2017. However, the negotiations have made little progress on content.
Previously, on February 14, in an exclusive interview with India's ANI news agency, Secretary General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, said that ASEAN members have a common approach to issues related to the East Sea.
“We are negotiating with China on the COC. It’s just that this process may take some time. There are many things we can do together with a unified stance and a common voice...”, Mr. Kao Kim Hourn stated.
The ASEAN Secretary General said that member countries are working on the basis of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
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