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ASEAN, China to endorse S. China Sea code framework this weekend

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Christian V. Esguerra, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/news/04/27/042717_southchina.jpg"/><figcaption>China Coast Guard vessels patrol past Philippine fishing boats at the disputed Scarborough Shoal, April 5, 2017. Erik De Castro, Reuters</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA- A much-awaited agreement between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to manage tensions in the South China Sea will be an &quot;exercise in futility&quot; amid Beijing&#x27;s island-building in the disputed waters, a former Philippine foreign affairs chief said Thursday. China and the ASEAN are set to move closer to a binding code of conduct with the endorsement of a <a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/18/17/china-asean-agree-on-framework-for-south-china-sea-code-of-conduct">framework </a>document later this week.Both parties agreed to &quot;ensure maritime security and safety&quot; and &quot;freedom of navigation and overflight&quot; in the vital waterway, a draft of the document seen by ABS-CBN News showed. Countries such as the United States have raised these concerns with more than $5 trillion in trade passing through the South China Sea. Former Foreign Secretary Roberto Romulo said the outline document would end up as &quot;a lesson in motherhood&quot; because of China&#x27;s continuous land reclamation and installation of military facilities in the area.&quot;I think it will be an exercise in futility and I don&#x27;t personally think China is really keen on making that as a substantive code of conduct,&quot; he told ABS-CBN News. China has continued island-building and militarization activities in the South China Sea, ignoring the Philippines&#x27; landmark international arbitration victory that invalidated its sweeping claims over nearly all of the waters. Amid its incursions, it reached an agreement with the ASEAN on a framework for a sea code, seen to replace the non-binding 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea. The document included a &quot;principle&quot; that the code will not be &quot;an instrument to settle territorial disputes or maritime delimitation issues.&quot; Among the &quot;basic undertakings&quot; set forth in the framework was the &quot;promotion of trust and confidence&quot; and the exercise of &quot;self-restraint&quot; among claimant parties.

MANILA- A much-awaited agreement between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to manage tensions in the South China Sea will be an "exercise in futility" amid Beijing's island-building in the disputed waters, a former Philippine foreign affairs chief said Thursday.

MANILA- A much-awaited agreement between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to manage tensions in the South China Sea will be an "exercise in futility" amid Beijing's island-building in the disputed waters, a former Philippine foreign affairs chief said Thursday.

ASEAN, China to endorse S. China Sea code framework this weekend

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ASEAN, China to endorse S. China Sea code framework this weekend

Christian V. Esguerra,

ABS-CBN News

Published Aug 03, 2017 05:28 PM PHT

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South China Sea

China

Code of Conduct

ASEAN

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