By Rodolfo Dacleson II
(May 22, 2025) – The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday asserted that the Code of Conduct (COC) for the South China Sea must adhere to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
DOJ senior state counsel Fretti Ganchoon made the remark during a panel discussion in a forum regarding the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Maritime Security in Pasay City.
“[The COC] cannot supersede UNCLOS and it cannot have rules there that would impair the arbitral award,” said Ganchoon, as quoted by the Philippine News Agency.
The UNCLOS entered into force in 1994 to serve as the legal framework governing activities in the world’s oceans and seas. It was ratified by the Philippines in 1984.
In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration recognized the country’s sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea and nullified China’s so-called nine-dash line.
China has consistently rejected the landmark ruling.
Ganchoon furthered developing a COC shouldn’t include provisions undermining the country’s sovereignty in the disputed West Philippine Sea.
“Under UNCLOS, we consider that we have exclusive rights to all of the natural resources in the West Philippine Sea, exclusive jurisdiction with respect to marine scientific research and taking of measures to protect and preserve the marine environment,” added Ganchoon.
The COC aimed at establishing a framework to ensure peace and stability in the South China Sea. ASEAN member-states and China have agreed to finalize it by 2026 despite prevailing “contentious” issues, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
In recent years, China has not ceased its bullying tactics against Philippine vessels in the West Philippine Sea, which overlaps with the South China Sea.
On Wednesday, a China Coast Guard used a water cannon and sideswiped the research vessels of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in Sandy Cay.
Since Pres. Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. assumed the presidency in 2022, the Philippines has filed nearly 200 diplomatic protests against China.
(JREC)
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