Speed Up CoC, Allay Tension Build-Up In South China Sea - Analysts

By Voon Miaw Ping KUALA LUMPUR, July 13 (Bernama) -- ASEAN must engage with China to speed-up the conclusion of the Code of Conduct (CoC) on the South China Sea amid rising tensions and security concerns following the landmark decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in the The Hague against China on its maritime disputes with the Philippines, said Malaysian analysts. Geostrategist Prof Dr Azmi Hassan said decision by the should be an impetus for ASEAN, especially the four claimant states to push for China to conclude the CoC. He said the formulation and conclusion of the CoC, which resulted from the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DoC) signed in 2002 by the 10 ASEAN member countries, had dragged on for too long without seeing much progress. Besides the Philippines, the other ASEAN claimant states are Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam. "ASEAN needs to take a bold step and use the advantage (of the ruling) to force China to conclude the CoC. "There is no more reason for China to delay it any longer," he said. Speaking to Bernama here, Azmi said while ASEAN claimant states must be assertive in exerting their rights to the claims, the member states must be tactful in dealing with China and not to provoke the superpower further. "ASEAN also needs to work together in alleviating tensions," he said. In a historic ruling, the tribunal ruled that China has no historic rights to the waters of the resources-rich South China Sea while it also found that China has no legal basis to claim the resources within its so called "nine-dash" line. China which has not participated in and acknowledged the proceedings since it started last year, has called the decision 'unilateral', a stand viewed by many observers as a show of defiance that could possibly worsen the situation. Azmi predicted that the PCA decision would not hamper China's strategy, and in fact, could possibly speed up the country's facility building in the Scarborough Shoals. Another analyst, Prof Mohamad Abu Bakar from the Department of International Studies, Universiti Malaya, said China would not 'kow tow' to the PCA's decision. Instead he predicted that the republic would increase its military presence in the territory in retaliation to the decision. He added that this could possibly also lead to counter action by the Philippines and some other claimants. "This is because China will not only be agitated by the decision but also view it as an attempt orchestrated by the West to stall its grand strategy to become a bigger global superpower. "And since China has spent so much energy and money, including building facilities in the area, I see that it will not kow tow to the decision, and easily budge from the area," he said when contacted. -- BERNAMA