As Southeast Asian leaders descend on Cebu in the Philippines for the 48th Asean summit on May 8, immediate concerns such as the global energy crunch will top the agenda. Yet a year-end deadline to finalise a long-delayed code of conduct in the South China Sea looms for bloc chair Manila.

At a panel at Atma Jaya University in Jakarta on Thursday, Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Theresa Lazaro stressed that completing the code this year was “something that we owe the world as well as the region”, revealing there was some movement in negotiations.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr last year called on Southeast Asian leaders to accelerate the adoption of a legally binding code of conduct to safeguard maritime rights, promote stability and prevent miscalculations at sea.

He has expressed hope of concluding talks on the matter during the Philippines’ tenure as chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations this year.

The code – under negotiation since 2002 between Asean and China – aims to reduce tensions in the disputed waterway by setting rules for maritime behaviour and crisis management. Talks have repeatedly stalled over the years amid tensions over territorial claims and competing national interests.

When asked on Thursday if Asean had an opportunity to show the world it could uphold international law and maintain stability at sea amid ongoing wars elsewhere, and what her reading of the negotiations was, Lazaro said she was an optimist but also a pragmatist, and both Asean and China endeavoured to complete negotiations this year.