South China Sea’s Negotiation on COC §

• The Code of Conduct (COC) is the set of rules that lay out the rules and responsibilities of individual parties in the South China Sea Dispute parties

  • To reduce tension between the states

• Opportunities

  • There aren’t much opportunities for ASEAN
  • Opportunity to gain better self reliance and security coherence among the claimant states
  • What is the ASEAN -X

• Challenges

  • China wants to exclude outside countries involved in the dispute
  • China’s “Nine dash lines”, no legal basis, no maritime features
  • COC doesn’t mention PCA award
    • Can’t prevent Chinese ships and patrol boats in SCS
  • Hard to make COC into a binding document
    • Lack of cooperation between ASEAN members
      • reinforce China to negotiate with individual ASEAN members instead of standing together for a bigger voice

• Parties Strategies

  1. Try to influence agenda items
  2. China maintain good relations: Cambodia to not discuss the issue during its chair
  3. The Phillippines alternating to international tribunal
  4. China stalls for time
  5. Form of negotiation
     • China prefers bilateral: it has more leverage
     • ASEAN prefers multilateral: it would have bigger voice than individually

• Outcome: COC unsuccessful

  • Some parties don’t accept some parts of it
  • Negotiation difficult due to
    • China refuse to join binding COC
    • Different and conflicting views among ASEAN members
    • Weak consensus of all ASEAN countries in negotiating with China
    • Working as a group is stronger than working as individuals