Philippines Accuses China of ‘Harassment,’ Urges Fast-Tracking ASEAN Code of Conduct

 Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called on ASEAN on Thursday to accelerate the adoption of a code of conduct in the South China Sea, citing “harassment and intimidation” by Beijing against his country.

“President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. called on the ASEAN member states to fast-track the ASEAN-China Code of Conduct to advance meaningful progress amid China’s continued aggression and harassment in Philippine waters,” the Philippine Presidency said in a statement.

Some “core elements” of the Code remain unsettled due to disagreements between member states on issues ranging from the document’s legal status to a “concept as basic as self-restraint,” Marcos Jr. wrote.

“Parties must be earnestly open to seriously managing the differences and to reduce tensions,” he added.

A high-ranking diplomatic source from China’s delegation to the ASEAN summit in Laos told Sputnik that Beijing expects all countries of the region to cooperate for the sake of common peace and stability.

“Following the Philippine president’s address at the ASEAN summit where he accused China of subjecting his country to aggression and harassment, Chinese Premier Li Qiang also raised the South China Sea in his address, outlining the benefits of peaceful economic cooperation between China and Southeast Asian countries over any confrontation, and urging the countries present at the summit to preserve peace and stability across the entire region, including the South China Sea,” the diplomat said.

Several Asia-Pacific countries, including the Philippines and China, are disputing the territorial affiliation of a number of islands and reefs in the South China Sea.

In July 2016, following a lawsuit filed by the Philippines, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled that China has no grounds for territorial claims in the South China Sea.

The court ruled that the islands are not disputed territory and do not constitute an exclusive economic zone, but Beijing refused to recognize or accept the ruling.

Recent weeks saw a rise in incidents involving Philippine and Chinese boats in disputed waters. In the most recent of them, on Tuesday, Manila accused Chinese Coast Guard of firing water cannons at two Philippine fishing boats. However, Beijing has said those were “legitimate control measures” against intrusion into what it considers its territorial waters.