DFA: South China Sea code 80% complete, but ‘sticking points’ remain

详细摘要

MANILA, Philippines — The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and China have made significant progress in negotiating a South China Sea Code of Conduct (COC), but…

MANILA, Philippines — The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and China have made significant progress in negotiating a South China Sea Code of Conduct (COC), but sticking points remain ahead of the regional bloc’s summit in Manila, Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro said on Saturday.

Lazaro said about 80 percent of the paragraphs in the draft agreement had been completed following monthly negotiations between Asean and China.

“At this point in time, 80 percent of the paragraphs … the document itself is finished. So there are just some sticking points,” Lazaro said in a press briefing at the International Media Center following a series of Asean ministerial meetings.

She later clarified that the figure had been rounded up from about 70 percent, emphasizing that substantial progress had been achieved during the Philippines’ chairmanship of the regional bloc.

On Friday, Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Dominic Xavier Imperial, the DFA spokesperson for Asean affairs, said about 70 percent of the proposed COC package had already been agreed upon.

READ: LIVE UPDATES: Asean Summit 2026 and related meetings – Nov. 14, 2026

Imperial clarified that the figure represented the overall progress of negotiations rather than the proportion of paragraphs in the draft agreement approved by the parties.

He declined to identify the provisions still under discussion and could not say whether negotiations would conclude before the Philippines’ Asean chairmanship ends this year.

Lazaro likewise declined to identify the remaining contentious provisions, saying discussions were still ongoing.

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