South China Sea expert warns 2026 code of conduct is ‘simply not achievable’

South China Morning Post · Mar 2, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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A veteran South China Sea expert has cast doubt on the prospects of finalising a code of conduct for the contested waters this year, even as ties between rival claimants Beijing and Manila show signs of improvement.Wu Shicun, founding president of the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, said it was “100 per cent not likely” that the document would be signed this year as the Philippines takes over the rotating chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).“I believe it cannot be successfully negotiated under the Philippines’ watch. They will inevitably bring up the arbitration ruling,” Wu said.A landmark 2016 ruling by an international tribunal in The Hague rejected Beijing’s expansive claims to historic and economic rights over most South China Sea features.Beijing refused to take part in the arbitration process – initiated by the Philippines in 2013 – or accept the ruling, arguing that the tribunal did not have the jurisdiction to rule on the sovereignty disputes.Other claimant states, along with the United States and other Western countries, have often cited the case to claim that China did not abide by international law.