Thayer Consultancy Background Brief:

ABN # 65 648 097 123

Vietnam and the Declaration on
Conduct of Parties in the South
China Sea

September 3, 2023

What is the stance of Vietnam on the Declaration on Code of Conduct of Parties (DOC)
in the South China Sea from your perspective?
ANSWER: Vietnam became a full member of ASEAN in July 1995 and participated in its
early efforts to negotiate a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea with China. Draft
COCs were exchanged in March 2000 but no consensus was reached. ASEAN and China
subsequently agreed to a non-binding political statement the Declaration on Conduct
of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in November 2002.
The DOC lists five areas of cooperation:
a. marine environmental protection;
b. marine scientific research;
c. safety of navigation and communication at sea;
d. search and rescue operation; and
e. combating transnational crime, including but not limited to trafficking in illicit
drugs, piracy and armed robbery at sea, and illegal traffic in arms.
Except for later agreement on hot lines and setting up working-level groups under the
umbrella of the ASEAN-China Joint Working Group to Implement the Declaration on
Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (JWG-DOC) no real progress has been made
on the areas of cooperation listed in the DOC.
The DOC is essentially viewed by Vietnam as a trust and confidence building measure
because it is the basis for negotiations on the Code of Conduct. The concluding
paragraph of the DOC states:
The Parties concerned reaffirm that the adoption of a code of conduct in the South
China Sea would further promote peace and stability in the region and agree to
work, on the basis of consensus, towards the eventual attainment of this objective.
In August 2018, ASEAN members and China agreed on a Single Draft Code of Conduct
in the South China Sea (COC) Negotiating Text (SDNT). This document has not been
made public and remains confidential.
In public, Vietnam supported the Chairman’s Statement of the 42nd ASEAN Summit,
Labuan Bajo Indonesia, 10-11 May 2023 that stated, “119. We underscored the
importance of the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of
Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in its entirety.”
 2

In private negotiations Vietnam committed itself along with the other parties
negotiating the SDNT to include in the Preamble this consolidated text:
3. ASEAN Member States and China reaffirm the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties
in the South China Sea (DOC) as a milestone document which helps enhance mutual
trust and confidence and cooperation in the South China Sea, and thereby
contributing to the maintenance of peace and stability in the region. They further
reaffirm their commitment to the principles of the DOC by undertaking to continue to
fully and effectively implement the DOC and carry out cooperative projects and
activities in accordance with the Guidelines for the Implementation of the DOC…
4. Recalling the substantial and dynamic ties between ASEAN and China as laid down,
inter alia, in…
- The 2012 Joint Statement of the 15th ASEAN-China Summit on the 10th Anniversary
of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC); and
- The 2016 Joint Statement of the Foreign Ministers of ASEAN Member States and
China on the Full and Effective Implementation of the DOC…
6. Reaffirming that the adoption of a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea as stated
in the DOC would further promote peace and stability, economic growth, and
prosperity in the region…
In the next section of the SDNT, Part 2 Basic Undertakings, the DOC is mentioned
fifteen times in eight separate references in submissions by Brunei (2), Cambodia
(1), China (3), Indonesia (1), Malaysia (1), Singapore (2), and Thailand (5).
In ten cases, two or more countries supported the reference to the DOC. In five cases
only one country submitted the reference, Thailand (4) and China (1).
It is notable that the submissions by Philippines and Vietnam omit any references to
the DOC. These are the two countries most severely affected by Chinese intimidation
and coercion.
Laos and Myanmar did not make any submissions to the SDNT.
In sum, the inference is that the Philippines and Vietnam place greater faith in other
means to negotiate an effective and legally binding COC.

Suggested citation: Carlyle A. Thayer, “Vietnam and the Declaration on Conduct of

Parties in the South China Sea,” Thayer Consultancy Background Brief, September 3,
2023. All background briefs are posted on Scribd.com (search for Thayer). To remove
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Thayer Consultancy provides political analysis of current regional security issues and
other research support to selected clients. Thayer Consultancy was officially
registered as a small business in Australia in 2002.