ARTICLES

The Elusive Code: Why ASEAN Needs a New Playbook for the South China Sea

Joanne Lin|Pou Sothirak

The Code of Conduct (COC) negotiations between ASEAN and China have reached an impasse, hindered by legal ambiguities, strategic divergences, and ASEAN’s internal divisions. ASEAN must move away from a binary approach that equates success with legal binds, and instead explore more pragmatic alternatives.