West PH feud tops Asean agenda

From the Manila Standard Today (Jan 4): West PH feud tops Asean agenda

The resolution of the territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea is on top of the agenda of Brunei, who will host the summit meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nation this year. The Brunei Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said that its country is keen in pursuing the code of conduct among claimant countries in the contested West Philippine Sea (South China Sea). The framework of the COC is the ASEAN’s non-binding Declaration on the Code of Conduct which was signed in 2002.

 

In a report posted on China Daily, Brunei said that the creation of the code of conduct would help reduce the potential armed conflict over oil and gas exploration, fishing and shipping rights in the disputed sea. Brunei officials said that all throughout their chairmanship for 2013, they would closely consult “major powers” and dialogue partners regarding the dispute.Brunei is one of the claimant countries, including the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Taiwan, in the oil-resource rich waters.

 

Tension between the Philippines and China escalated late last year after Beijing prevented Manila authority from arresting Chinese fishermen who were caught fishing endangered maritime species in the West Philippine Sea. Based on the Declaration Conduct, a non-binding document, all signatories are directed to “exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities that would complicate or escalate disputes and affect peace and stability including, among others, refraining from action of inhabiting on the presently uninhabited islands, reefs, shoals, cays, and other features and to handle their differences in a constructive manner”.

 

During Cambodia’s chairmanship of Asean in 2012, the ASEAN countries failed to issue the customary joint communiqué. Cambodia, staunch ally of China, repeatedly rejected the term “South China Sea” dispute in the proposed joint communiqué of the 10-regional bloc. Due to the group’s failure to hammer out a a joint statement, the ASEAN countries, through the initiatives of Indonesia, have instead come up with a six-point-principle.

The ASEAN has agreed to 1)fully implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea or DOC 2) support for the guidelines of the DOC; 3)conclude early a regional code of conduct on the South China Sea; 4) fully respect universally-recognized principle of international law including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea; 5) continue exercising self restraint and non-use of force; and 6) the peaceful resolution of conflicts in accordance with universally-recognized principles of international law and including the 1982 UNCLOS. Brunei said, aside from the resolution of the dispute, it will also focus on issues on human rights, through the activities of the Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights.

http://manilastandardtoday.com/2013/01/04/west-ph-feud-tops-asean-agenda/