Malaysia, the current ASEAN rotating chair, aims to expedite the completion of a Code of Conduct (COC) on international maritime issues by 2026. Malaysia is one of several countries involved in maritime disputes with China, which centre around the South China Sea.

“Since 2024, Malaysia has been pushing for the conclusion of the Code of Conduct by 2026. However, many issues still need to be resolved,” said ASEAN secretary-general Kao Kim Hourn.

“I hope that, as ASEAN secretary-general, I will see this work completed,” he told the media, as he addressed the March 7 “ASEAN Secretary-General's Vision Forum 2025”, organised by the Club of Cambodian Journalists in Phnom Penh.

He emphasised that the COC agreement does not involve negotiations into sovereignty over any territory. Instead, it is a negotiation between ASEAN and China aimed at managing, resolving and addressing tensions in the South China Sea.

Regarding territorial control, concerned parties will continue negotiations in accordance with international law, particularly the universally recognised principles enshrined in the Charter of the UN, the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC), he added.

Current ASEAN secretary-general Kao Kim Hourn addresses the 'ASEAN Secretary-General's Vision Forum 2025’, organized by the Club of Cambodian Journalists, in Phnom Penh on March 7. Hong Raksmey

According to a report by the Congressional Research Service on the strategic competition between the US and China in the South and East China Seas, released on February 5, 2024, China asserts its claims over the South China Sea using the so-called Nine-Dash Line, a map first introduced in 1947.

This map features nine segmented lines that, when connected, enclose an area often reported to cover at least 80 per cent of the South China Sea, located between China, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia’s Borneo region and Vietnam.

Kim Hourn noted that ASEAN defence ministers signed the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in 2002. In 2006, guiding principles were issued, and negotiations for the COC began in 2007.

These agreements serve as mechanisms for managing tensions among claimant states, particularly China and several Southeast Asian nations (Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam), while ensuring freedom of navigation and overflight in one of the world’s busiest maritime regions.

China and ASEAN signed the DOC on November 4, 2002, during the 8th ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh.

The DOC was a political agreement aimed at promoting peace and stability in the region, but it was not legally binding.

Following the DOC, ASEAN and China began working on a COC to establish a more binding framework. However, negotiations have been slow. Talks for the COC formally began in 2013.

In 2017, ASEAN and China adopted a framework for the COC, outlining basic guidelines for future negotiations. The following year, both sides agreed on a single draft negotiating text as the basis for discussions. By 2019, they aimed to finalise the COC by 2021, but progress was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and rising geopolitical tensions.

Some commentators believe that after nearly two decades, time is running out for ASEAN to finalise the COC. Talks resumed in 2023 with a second reading of the draft, signalling renewed efforts to reach a consensus.

In November 2023, the Philippines engaged in discussions with Malaysia and Vietnam to explore a separate Code of Conduct for the South China Sea, citing slow progress in achieving a broader regional pact with China, according to Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

The sea is a vital shipping route, with the BBC reporting that it accounts for more than 21 per cent of global trade, valued at $3.37 trillion in 2016. 

It also provides rich fisheries that support millions of people. Although largely uninhabited, the disputed Paracel and Spratly islands contain vast, untapped natural resources.

China remains committed to strengthening cooperation with ASEAN nations to finalize the COC, Xinhua reported on March 7, citing Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

The minister stated that through joint efforts, peace and stability have been maintained in the South China Sea, making it “the safest and busiest route for international navigation and flights”.

He also highlighted that maritime cooperation initiatives, including agreements with Indonesia and Malaysia, demonstrate the effectiveness of dialogue and cooperation.

“These are proof that there is no problem that cannot be solved through dialogue and no goal that cannot be reached through cooperation,” he said.