EDITORIAL - Code of Conduct

There goes another chunk of Tubbataha Reef, one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the Philippines, damaged by another ship with no capability, it seems, to detect coral networks lying so close to the water surface. Reef damage is expected to be nearly as extensive as in the case of the US Navy minesweeper USS Guardian, which ran aground on the reef and stayed there for three months.

This time it’s a ship manned by Chinese that’s stuck there, inflicting continuing damage until the vessel can be extricated. The 12 crewmembers claim to be fishermen. That’s one large fishing boat, with cozy quarters for the crew, roaming in shallow waters and intruding into Philippine territory.

The intrusion in the Sulu Sea should provide more impetus for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to approve a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, which is shared by several countries in the region but is being claimed almost entirely by a non-ASEAN member, China. ASEAN foreign ministers meeting in Brunei, current holder of the rotating ASEAN chair, have agreed to meet with China for discussions on the Code of Conduct, which the regional bloc has been trying for years to finalize.

The sea code need not necessarily settle overlapping territorial claims, but it should prevent aggressive action by the claimants. It should also seek to protect marine resources, particularly endangered species and coral reefs that take many decades to regenerate. Too many poachers roam the sea, harvesting endangered giant clams, sea turtles and certain species of sharks, and using destructive types of fishing. Unregulated commercial extraction of minerals underwater can also destroy ecological systems.

The Philippines, unable to secure ASEAN consensus on sea disputes, has resorted to international arbitral proceedings under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to define the country’s maritime entitlements within its 200-mile exclusive economic zone especially in the West Philippine Sea. But the country is also participating in efforts to approve a binding Code of Conduct in regional waters. The latest accident in Tubbataha should drive home the urgency of passing that Code of Conduct.