The heightened tension in the South China Sea remains a “serious concern” and underscores the urgency of the Code of Conduct (COC) in the region, the Philippines stressed during a meeting with the ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in Liverpool, United Kingdom

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2016 Arbitral Award remain the twin anchors of Manila positions and activities in the disputed waters.

“We will not raise anchor and drift or sail away from them. We value your support,” he said during the December 12 meeting. “China can claim what it wants and say what it wants but it cannot do anything it pleases without blowback from the Philippines.”

On November 16, the Chinese Coast Guard blocked and fired water cannons at two Philippine boats transporting supplies to military personnel of the BRP Sierra Madre at the Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal.

Philippine Navy resupply boats Unaizzah May 1 and Unaizzah May 3 eventually completed the mission one week later without any untoward incident.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana called it “an affront to the Filipino people”.

“I have told the Chinese Ambassador (Huang Xilian) that no one can prevent us from doing what we have to lawfully do within the West Philippine Sea, an area where we have sovereign rights by international laws,” Lorenzana said in a statement.

The COC is expected to be a regional framework that establishes the rules and standards for peace and stability amid the maritime row in South China Sea.

The G7 is an inter-governmental political forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

No to outside power

As the previous country coordinator for the Asean-China Dialogue Relations, Locsin said the Philippines have “helped lead the process and build consensus”.

However, the negotiations for the COC went nowhere, Locsin said.

Locsin did not share further details on the negotiations but said he opposed the exclusion of outside power in the crafting of the document as it “would create a semi-legal sphere of influence repugnant to the comity of all nations.”

In a separate statement, Locsin recognized the G7’s concern amid latest developments in the area, as well as its opposition to “any unilateral actions to change the status quo and the seizure of maritime features thereby creating the present tensions.”

“We welcome statements by G7 members upholding an international rules-based order, including reaffirming UNCLOS and the 2016 Award on the South China Sea arbitration,” he said.

“They strengthen the legal order over the sea. They restrict the legal and political space in which actions on discredited historical claims and other pseudo-legal maneuvers to legitimize baseless yet expansive maritime claims can thrive,” he added. (PNA)