(VOVWORLD) - ASEAN members should maintain the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) as a legal framework under which all maritime activities are regulated, said a Philippine senior official.
 Madam Junever Mahilum-West (Photo: DFA) |
Junever Mahilum-West, Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary of ASEAN Affairs and Director-General of the ASEAN-Philippines Department, addressed the 10th ASEAN Maritime Forum (AMF) and the 8th Expanded Asean Maritime Forum (EAMF) held online on Tuesday.
In a news release on Thursday, Assistant Secretary Mahilum-West expressed the Philippines’ steadfast commitment to achieving an effective and substantive Code of Conduct in the South China Sea called the East Sea in Vietnam (COC) that is in accordance with international law, particularly the 1982 UNCLOS.
Last month, the Philippine Foreign Secretary urged ASEAN countries to finalize the COC, a document that he said could identify states' responsibilities or appropriate behaviors for sovereignty claims in the East Sea.