Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos Jr, the current chairman of Asean, said the setting up of such a centre is “not to confront or not to somehow push back on any single force or any single country”.
Speaking at a press conference after the Asean summit, he said “I suppose as the situation in the South China Sea becomes more, shall we say, unreadable, this becomes more important that there will be a central repository for maritime issues and maritime policy that will apply to Asean members”.
Citing the global crisis stemming from conflicts in the Strait of Hormuz, Marcos said, “If such a thing were to happen in the South China Sea, the inevitable consequences would be alarming, even to contemplate”.
Aside from the South China Sea, Marcos said member states must continue to cooperate to keep regional waters secure, respect each other’s territorial rights, and follow the United Nations convention on the law of the sea as the main rulebook for resolving maritime issues.
“Since we proposed the idea, we are offering the Philippines to be the home of that centre,” he added.
He also said the centre would help coordinate efforts in enhancing vessel monitoring and tackling illicit activities such as illegal fishing, smuggling, and human trafficking.
When asked about the timeline for establishing the maritime centre, Marcos said a framework must first be developed to outline its structure, participants, funding, and roles.
Earlier, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said negotiations between Asean and China over the disputed South China Sea must proceed without external interference.
He also said that the bloc agreed to maintain its position that talks on the code of conduct between Asean and China should be expedited, given that the targeted deadline is this year.
The South China Sea is the subject of overlapping border disputes, with seven members of Asean – Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and the Philippines – to the south and southwest, and South China and Taiwan in the north.
China has declared sovereignty over a vast expanse of the sea, through declaration of its so-called “nine-dash-line” which overlaps the exclusive economic zones of Asean members under the UN law of the sea.
Geopolitical analysts told FMT yesterday that Asean must move beyond rhetoric as risks to key maritime routes grow, including potential threats to regional chokepoints such as the Straits of Malacca.