ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an overview of efforts by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to manage disputes in the South China Sea from 1992 to 2018. It is divided into three parts. Part 1 reviews ten major turning points over this 26-year period as ASEAN members and China slowly edged toward the completion of a final Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (CoC). Part 2 discusses six general provisions in the ASEAN-China Single Draft South China Sea Negotiating Text (SDNT) reached in August 2018: duty to cooperate, promotion of practical maritime cooperation, self-restraint/promotion of trust and confidence, prevention of incidents, management of incidents, and other undertakings. Part 3 assesses six major outstanding issues that need to be resolved before a final CoC in the South China Sea can be adopted.
