Toward a Maritime Order in the South China Sea: China's Role in COC Rule-Making and Implementation

The negotiations on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) have entered their final, decisive phase. China and ASEAN member states have identified 2026 as the pivotal year for concluding a substantive text of the COC. Nevertheless, profound divergences persist among all parties over core issues, including the geographic scope of application, the agreement’s legal binding force, self-restraint clauses, implementation and oversight mechanisms, and dispute settlement frameworks. As an upgraded successor to the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), the COC is legally grounded in the Charter of the United Nations, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and a suite of bilateral and multilateral instruments signed between China and ASEAN. Centered on crisis management, confidence-building and pragmatic maritime cooperation, the COC is not designed to resolve underlying disputes over territorial sovereignty and maritime delimitation. Once concluded, China and ASEAN states will adopt a combination of legal and political measures to ensure its effective implementation. This will allow the COC to fulfil its core functions: containing crisis, cultivating mutual trust, and facilitating practical maritime collaboration. The conclusion and operationalization of the COC will not only strengthen the governance framework in the South China Sea but also furnish a replicable model for managing contested maritime zones worldwide. By consolidating the governance experience of China and ASEAN, it will provide fresh momentum for maintaining global maritime peace and stability and for improving the broader international maritime governance system.