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President Rodrigo Duterte once again invoked the country’s arbitration victory against China in the South China Sea dispute, saying that no country, however powerful, should ignore the ruling.
In his speech during the plenary session of the 37th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit on Thursday, Duterte said that the arbitration award is an authoritative interpretation of the application of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. , or Unclos.
“Now it is part of international law. And its importance cannot be diminished or ignored by any country, however great and powerful it may be, ”he said.
In July 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands, ruled in favor of the Philippines, which had filed a case challenging China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea.
Last September, Duterte, in his speech to the 75th United Nations General Assembly, said the country would reject attempts to undermine the ruling.
China refuses to acknowledge the failure.
Duterte said that the dispute in the South China Sea should be resolved peacefully and in accordance with international law.
“As I have said before, the South China Sea problem is Asean’s strategic challenge. The way we handle this issue reveals our strengths and weaknesses as a community. We must act quickly, ”he said.
Duterte called on Asean to expedite the conclusion of a Code of Conduct (CoC) for the South China Sea.
The CoC is a set of rules for ASEAN claimant states to avoid conflicts in disputed waters.
“The Philippines is one with Asean in transforming the South China Sea into a sea of peace and prosperity for all,” the president said.
“We are committed to the immediate conclusion of a substantive and effective Code of Conduct in the South China Sea. And if I may add, it’s been a long time and it’s a long wait, ”Duterte said.
In August 2017, ASEAN and China adopted the framework that would be the basis for code negotiations. In 2018, Asean and China agreed on an initial draft.
During the 22nd ASEAN-China summit in 2019, the regional bloc adopted China’s proposed three-year timeline for completing the CoC.
This is not the first time that Duterte has called Asean to expedite the conclusion of the CoC.
During the 2019 Asean summit, he expressed disappointment at the delay in code negotiations. Duterte said the longer the delay, the greater the likelihood of maritime incidents occurring.
The Philippines is the coordinating country for ASEAN-China dialogue relations until 2021.
Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said the president also expressed Asean’s appreciation to China for its commitment to contribute to the Covid-19 Response Fund.
Roque said Duterte also claimed that Asean fosters close cooperation and collaboration with China in the development and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines.
The president’s spokesman added that Duterte also said ASEAN welcomes China’s promise that ASEAN countries will be among the first to benefit once a vaccine is available.
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