00:00I think countries could find ways to address the situation in the South China Sea,
00:06whatever way works, I think they should be promoted.
00:09We have the basic negotiations between the ASEAN countries and China,
00:13but I think this doesn't prevent other countries
00:16from seeking maritime cooperative activities with each other,
00:20because that too will help, even with China.
00:22This is what Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo had to say
00:26about enhanced maritime cooperation to advance negotiations
00:31for a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.
00:34He said these efforts could support negotiations
00:37to reach an amicable solution to the conflict.
00:40So all of these could work and be supportive
00:45of the negotiations of the Code of Conduct.
00:47So I wouldn't look at things as alternatives to the Code.
00:51Manalo, who is in Langkawi for the ASEAN Foreign Minister's retreat,
00:55reaffirmed the Philippines' commitment to negotiations on a Code of Conduct,
01:00ongoing for the last two decades
01:02due to China's assertive territorial claims in the sea.
01:06Progress on the Code has been lagging,
01:08while the Philippines, one of the frontline states,
01:11has been increasingly vocal about the importance
01:13of ensuring a substantive and legally binding agreement.
01:19Anakam, FMT News.
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