By Liz Lagniton | 2026-05-12

Regional leaders are calling for faster negotiations on a binding South China Sea code of conduct while stressing international law, maritime stability and freedom of navigation.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)'s leaders renewed calls for the early conclusion of an enforceable code in the South China Sea, as the regional bloc seeks to manage maritime tensions between China and several Southeast Asian states.

China claims more than 80% of the South China Sea as its territory, even thought an international tribunal rejected its case in 2016.

The issue was a key focus during the 48th ASEAN Leaders' Meeting and Related Summits in Cebu, the Philippines, May 8, where member states urged accelerated negotiations on an "effective and substantive" code consistent with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The renewed push comes as confrontations and competing territorial claims in the South China Sea raise concerns over regional stability, freedom of navigation and the risk of miscalculation in one of the world's busiest waterways.

Legal framework

In the ASEAN chair's statement released May 9, leaders welcomed progress in negotiations with China while urging the full use of guidelines adopted by China and ASEAN's foreign ministers in 2023 to accelerate talks.

ASEAN leaders emphasized self-restraint and confidence-building measures, warning against actions that could raise tensions in contested waters.

The statement highlighted the use of practical steps to reduce "accidents, misunderstandings and miscalculation."

The leaders reiterated support for the full implementation of the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, a nonbinding agreement between ASEAN and China that has served as the framework for managing tensions while negotiations on a more formal code continue.

Marcos' target

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who chaired this year's summit, said ASEAN remained hopeful negotiations could be completed before the end of 2026 despite the complexity of aligning the positions of member states and China.

"So, again, that is one of our aspirations as chair of ASEAN for 2026, that we find at the end of the year, that we actually have a code of conduct," Marcos told reporters after the summit.

In a statement released May 9, Marcos said he "looked forward to the early conclusion of an effective and substantive [code of conduct] that is in accordance with international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS."

He described the situation in the South China Sea as becoming "more unreadable," an evocation of the growing uncertainty surrounding regional maritime disputes.

Marcos linked broader ASEAN-China cooperation to the completion of the code. Codification of institutional arrangements will remain difficult without an agreed framework governing conduct in the disputed waters, he said.

Negotiations on the code have stretched for years, with ASEAN and China repeatedly expressing support for a binding framework but struggling to finalize terms acceptable to all parties.

ASEAN member states have taken different approaches toward Beijing, reflecting various levels of economic ties, security concerns and territorial interests within the bloc.

The summit statement repeatedly referenced international law, particularly UNCLOS. It serves as the legal basis for maritime entitlements and navigation rights in the South China Sea.

ASEAN leaders reaffirmed the need to ensure the safety of seafarers and vessels and to preserve freedom of navigation and overflight.

The maritime domain should remain "a sea of peace, stability, prosperity, and sustainable development," the statement said.

Maritime cooperation

Regional leaders announced the establishment of an ASEAN Maritime Center in the Philippines to strengthen maritime cooperation. The center is intended to support freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, said Marcos.

"The ultimate reason for having this maritime center is not to confront or not to somehow push back against any single force or any single country," Marcos said in a press briefing after leading the summit.

The center was established through Philippine efforts to promote "safe navigation" among ASEAN member states in line with the ASEAN Declaration on Maritime Cooperation.

Although Marcos framed the center as nonconfrontational, a May 12 editorial by the Philippine Daily Inquirer said it could "potentially help deter more aggressive actions by China against its smaller neighbors" if given enough authority and resources to monitor movements in the South China Sea.

"It is high time for ASEAN to assert its authority" in preserving peace in the disputed waterway, the editorial said, describing the South China Sea as vital to both regional livelihoods and global trade.