Philippines calls for urgency from China

10/10/2024 17:07

        Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr pressed Southeast Asian leaders and China at a regional summit on Thursday to urgently speed up negotiations on a code of conduct for the South China Sea, while accusing Beijing of harassment and intimidation.
        
        Speaking in Laos to leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Marcos said substantive progress needed to be made and all parties must "be earnestly open to seriously managing differences" and reducing tension.
        
        China and U.S. ally the Philippines have been at loggerheads over a succession of confrontations near disputed features in the South China, with Manila accusing China's coast guard of aggression and Beijing furious over what it calls repeated provocations and territorial incursions.
        
        The rows have been heated and have raised regional concerns of an escalation that could eventually involve the United States, which has a 1951 defence treaty that commits it to defend the Philippines if it is attacked.