ASEAN Caucus Crucial To Coordinate Position In COC Talks With China 

By Wan Muhammad Aslah Wan Razali

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 16 (Bernama) -- ASEAN needs to restore its internal caucus to resolve differences and coordinate a collective position before negotiating with China over the South China Sea Code of Conduct (COC), an ASEAN studies expert said.

Dr Tang Siew Mun said stronger coordination and a united voice could give ASEAN greater leverage while preserving its centrality in the negotiations.

“So if we were to preserve ASEAN centrality, the one way is to convince our Chinese friends that to have an ASEAN caucus ahead of the ASEAN-China negotiation process is not an anti-China proposition.

“These (internal ASEAN) discussions would allow the member states to coordinate their positions, resolve differences, and agree on a common approach so that they could enter the meeting with China with a clean draft, clear talking points, and a unified position,” he said during a panel discussion at the ninth MIMA South China Sea Conference 2026, held here, this week.

Tang, a former director at the ASEAN Secretariat's Political and Security Directorate, said that ASEAN could not impose its position on China, as an effective and sustainable COC must be fair and workable for both sides.

ASEAN and China are negotiating the COC to establish a framework for managing tensions and guiding conduct in the South China Sea.

It builds on the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), which promotes peaceful dispute resolution, confidence-building and maritime cooperation, in accordance  with  international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). 

On expectations of concluding the COC by year-end, Tang cautioned that the signing of an agreement should not automatically be celebrated without examining its substance and compromises involved.

He also opined that ASEAN should reassess the process if an agreement remained out of reach by the end of 2026, including whether negotiations should continue indefinitely or whether a diplomatic way could be found to end them if they were no longer workable.

The South China Sea, a resources rich and strategically important waterway remains a focal point of overlapping maritime claims involving Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines Vietnam, and China.

-- BERNAMA