MANILA, April 17 (PNA) — President Benigno Aquino III is firm on calling for the establishment of the Code of Conduct in South China Sea citing a possible violation of the Declaration of Conduct (DOC) of Parties in the South China Sea.
He said moves to institute the Code of Conduct started in 2002 but nothing has materialized yet.
“Pati ‘yung DOC, sa ating pananaw, mukhang naba-violate na ngayon kaya lalong imperative na itulak natin ‘yung pagsulong nga nitong Code of Conduct (I think even the DOC seems have been violated that’s why it’s imperative to push for the formulation of the Code of Conduct),” he told reporters after leading the turn-over ceremony of the newly-constructed three-story building of the Tarlac National High School in Tarclac City, Tarlac.
Aquino, who is scheduled to attend the 26th ASEAN Summit to be held in Malaysia from April 26-27, 2015, explained that the issue of territorial dispute in the South China Sea is not simply a regional problem since at least 40 percent of goods traded around the world pass through this body of water.
He said the Philippines will continue to spouse the peaceful way of addressing the issue, which the US and G7 countries recently seconded.
He said every country that benefits from the South China Sea should be worried about the on-going reclamation works of China in the disputed waters.
”Para mangibabaw ‘yung tinatawag na goodwill, na lahat tayo nangako na dadaanin natin sa peaceful means; lahat tayo nangako in conformity with the international law, sana tuparin natin ‘yan (And for goodwill to prevail I hope everyone of us who vowed to use peaceful means, everyone who agreed d to conform with international law, we should comply with it,” he added.(PNA)