Maritime agreement talks between China and ASEAN progress but deadline extended

Progress has been made between China and South-East Asian nations regarding an agreement for the South China Sea, but these decades-long negotiations will not be completed this year. According to a Business Standard report, three regional diplomats provided this information on Wednesday.

China and ASEAN began negotiations for an agreement named the 'Code of Conduct' in 2005. The primary objective of this agreement is to prevent mutual frictions in disputed waterways from escalating into a major conflict, which could pose a risk to Asian economies. The agreement mainly emphasises maintaining restraint and discouraging aggressive actions, as this waterway is extremely important for global trade.

After years of closed-door negotiations and delays caused by tensions in disputed areas, China and ASEAN had agreed in 2023 to accelerate this process and complete the talks by this year. However, following the final round of this year held last month, informed diplomats stated that China and ASEAN have provisionally agreed on approximately 80% of the total paragraphs of the agreement.

Differences still remain on several key points. These include the geographical area covered under the agreement, the definition of sensitive terms, and whether this agreement should be legally binding. These diplomats provided this information on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to discuss these issues publicly.

These negotiations will now continue next year, when the ASEAN leadership passes to Singapore. This year, the Philippines led the group and held meetings at least once a month, which provided more time for negotiations. Malaysia and China, who currently oversee ASEAN's overall relations with China, jointly led at least 10 major rounds of negotiations this year.

ASEAN leaders will hold their annual summit in Manila starting this weekend, where the status of the proposed agreement and ongoing events in the South China Sea will be key on the agenda. Following this meeting, they will hold discussions with leaders from Asian and Western countries, including the US and China.

Territorial disputes have persisted for decades in this busy waterway between China and four ASEAN member countries—Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines, and Vietnam—as well as Taiwan. It is believed that there are oil and gas reserves in the seabed of this region. In recent years, friction has increased between the Chinese and Philippine coast guards as well as navies. In 1988, dozens of Vietnamese soldiers were killed in a clash with Chinese forces over a disputed reef, which was one of the most horrific battles in the South China Sea.

This disputed area has long been seen as a flashpoint for Asia and has become a sensitive front in the competition between the US and China. Washington has repeatedly warned that it will defend its oldest treaty ally, the Philippines, if it is attacked. On the other hand, China has warned the US to stay away from the matter, which China considers a purely Asian dispute.