PRRD hopes for South China Sea Code of Conduct completion

President Rodrigo Duterte (PNA Photo)

MANILA — President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Friday expressed hope that the Code of Conduct (COC) on the South China Sea would soon be completed.

In his speech at the Nikkei International Forum on the Future of Asia in Japan, the President said he is not angry but he expressed hope that China would take the lead in formulating the COC.

“I am sad and bewildered, not angry, because I cannot do anything but I just hope that China will come up with conduct of the seas soon,” he said.

Duterte said high-level talks could help in convincing China to complete the COC.

“It would do as well, maybe in a higher ministerial level, to talk about this and try to prod China to come up with it, to shorten the possibility, to make sure the law of averages is reduced to the barest minimum. If fighting can erupt, if 25 percent, maybe we can reduce it to 15,” he said.

The President cited the possibility of having a third-party mediator during the talks in the crafting of the COC.

“There has to be somebody not identified with any country that China does not like because there will never be a sort of an America, China talking seriously about territories. It will just end up in a shouting match,” he said.

The President questioned China’s claim over the entire South China Sea.

“I love China, it has helped us a bit but it behooves upon us to ask, is it right for a country to claim the whole ocean?” he said.