ISEAS Perspective 2025/39
Authors: Joanne Lin and Pou Sothirak
Published on: 28 May 2025
The South China Sea (SCS) remains one of the most consequential flashpoints in Southeast Asia, posing a direct challenge to ASEAN’s credibility, unity and its role as a stabilising force in the region. Following the adoption of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in 2002, ASEAN and China began discussions on the Code of Conduct (COC) in 2014, which were followed by the official commencement of negotiations in 2018. However, to date, little progress has been made. The COC remains more aspirational than operational; negotiations have been bogged down by strategic ambiguity, asymmetries of power, and fundamental differences in legal interpretations and national interests. China’s growing economic leverage and diplomatic influence over some ASEAN members have further complicated the push for a binding and meaningful agreement.
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