Philippines calls for urgency from China, Asean in negotiating South China Sea code

VIENTIANE, Laos — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr pressed Southeast Asian leaders and China at a regional summit on Thursday (Oct 10) to urgently speed up negotiations on a code of conduct for the South China Sea, while accusing Beijing of harassment and intimidation.

Speaking in Laos to leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Marcos said substantive progress needed to be made and all parties must "be earnestly open to seriously managing differences" and reducing tension.

China and US ally the Philippines have been at loggerheads over a succession of confrontations near disputed features in the South China, with Manila accusing China's coast guard of aggression and Beijing furious over what it calls repeated provocations and territorial incursions.

The rows have been heated and have raised regional concerns of an escalation that could eventually involve the United States, which has a 1951 defence treaty that commits it to defend the Philippines if it is attacked.

"There should be more urgency in the pace of the negotiations of the Asean-China code of conduct," Marcos told the meeting, according to a statement from his office.

"It is regrettable that the overall situation in the South China Sea remains tense and unchanged. We continue to be subjected to harassment and intimidation."

On the basis of its old maps, China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea and has deployed a fleet of coast guard deep into Southeast Asia, including the exclusive economic zones of Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Vietnam.

The idea of a maritime code was first agreed between China and Asean in 2002 but the formal process of creating one did not start until