Philippine minister urges ASEAN to seal South China Sea code of conduct

Manalo says Manila seeking to deepen economic ties beyond Beijing

20241018 Philippine secretary of foreign affairs Enrique Manalo

Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo used an interview with Nikkei Asia in Bangkok on Friday to urge ASEAN members to develop a code of conduct for the disputed waters in the South China Sea. (Photo by Yuki Kohara)

FRANCESCA REGALADO, Nikkei staff writer

BANGKOK -- Increasingly frequent confrontations between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea this year should impress upon Southeast Asian countries the urgency of a long-delayed code of conduct in the contested waters, Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo said on Friday.

"We very much want to find ways where we can at least manage or de-escalate the situation," Manalo said, in an interview with Nikkei Asia. "Unfortunately, of course ... we have been victims of water cannoning, ramming, collision, side-swiping. We don't want to be in a situation where, one day, that will spiral into something else."

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