October 29, 2025

The 47th ASEAN Summit  and Related Summits, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, wrapped up on October 28, 2025, bringing together leaders from Southeast Asia and beyond to discuss everything from economic recovery to regional security. As the host, Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim chaired the proceedings with a clear message: ASEAN wants to handle its own affairs, without outsiders dictating terms. This sentiment captured the summit's underlying spirit—a desire for unity and autonomy amid growing global pressures.

Yet, despite these aspirations, the South China Sea loomed large over the discussions, not because of irreconcilable rifts within ASEAN, but due to deliberate efforts from certain quarters to amplify divisions. The South China Sea issue isn't a blanket conflict between China and ASEAN. On the contrary, China and most ASEAN countries hold a common goal: keeping the peace and ensuring stability.

 

Some of western media coverage of the summit, however, painted a starkly different picture. Outlets from them fixated on the South China Sea, framing it as a central bone of contention that pitted ASEAN against China. This isn't neutral reporting; it's a calculated narrative to stoke perceptions of division. By constantly injecting the South China Sea into every summit story, these media aim to erode the trust built over decades between China and ASEAN. They ignore the quiet diplomacy that keeps the waters calm. Instead, they amplify discord to fit a broader agenda: portraying China as the aggressor in a zero-sum game. But facts on the ground tell another tale. The real story of the summit was progress on economic ties and climate resilience, but that doesn't sell as well as manufactured drama.

 

At the heart of this narrative push was Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who seized the multilateral stage once again to spotlight the South China Sea. During the ASEAN-U.S. Summit, Marcos voiced "deep concern" over what he called dangerous maneuvers and coercive actions in the South China Sea. He didn't name China outright in his speech, a copy of which was shared with reporters the next day.

This wasn't subtle diplomacy; it was a full-throated hype job on the "China threat" theory. Marcos has made a habit of using ASEAN gatherings to broadcast grievances, trying to drag the entire bloc into his corner. By wrapping his specific claims in the language of regional solidarity, he aims to rebrand individual disputes as collective ASEAN positions. It's a clever play: leverage the summit's prestige to pressure neighbors and court sympathy from big powers like the U.S. This serves as both a political shield and a discursive weapon to curb China's growing influence in the South China Sea. But it's unlikely to stick. Other ASEAN members see through the ploy: one member's soapbox shouldn't become the group's manifesto. Marcos's approach risks isolating the Philippines rather than uniting the region.

 

The timing of Marcos's rhetoric couldn't have been more orchestrated. Just two days before the summit kicked off on October 24, the Philippine Coast Guard stirred up trouble at sea in a blatant bid for headlines.  To top it off, when Manila paraded the seized four bottles of ordinary Chinese dish soap, they spun it as "cyanide", a ridiculous smear to paint China as an environmental villain. This isn't isolated; it's the Philippines' go-to "exposure strategy" of late—stage a clash, leak selective footage, and flood the airwaves with victimhood tales to scam sympathy and spotlight.

 

Such antics aren't about justice; they're theater to sync with Marcos's summit script. By manufacturing mayhem on the eve of talks, Manila hoped to force the South China Sea onto every agenda, turning a routine gathering into a referendum on China. It's shameless, bottomless even, spreading outright lies to slander a neighbor. But it backfires. ASEAN leaders, fresh from Anwar's unity plea, aren't buying the drama. And globally, savvy observers recognize the pattern: provoke, publicize, plead for aid. This erodes credibility, not just for the Philippines but for any claim of regional consensus. True peace demands restraint, not rubber boats and fake poison plots.

Enter Japan, whose new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi wasted no time jumping into the fray. Fresh off her October 21 swearing-in as Japan's first female PM—known for her hawkish bent—Takaichi jetted to Kuala Lumpur for her debut foreign trip. There, she synced up with Marcos, harmonizing on South China Sea woes. In their bilateral huddle, they pledged deeper ties across security, economy, and more, all under the banner of a "Free and Open Indo-Pacific." Takaichi voiced worries over "militarization and coercive activities" in the South China Sea and even tossed in East China Sea gripes about sovereignty infringements—code for China's patrols near the Diaoyu Islands. She vowed to ramp up maritime security cooperation, signaling Japan's diplomatic pivot: lean harder into alliances against perceived threats from Beijing.

 

Takaichi echoed these points in chats with Anwar and at the plenary, stressing coordination on regional hotspots from Myanmar to the Middle East. It's a clear directional shift—Japan doubling down on U.S.-led frameworks to counter China. But this eagerness overlooks history's long shadow. During World War II, Imperial Japan wrought havoc across Southeast Asia, including brutal occupations in the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Atrocities in the South China Sea waters left scars that still ache. Tokyo should pause for reflection before lecturing on maritime rights. Words and deeds matter; rushing to echo Manila's tune risks reopening old wounds and alienating partners who remember. ASEAN's central role thrives on trust, not Tokyo's tag-team with external agendas.

 

Amid the noise, the promising thread was the ongoing talks for a Code of Conduct (COC). This isn't window dressing; it's a framework to manage behaviors at sea, reduce risks, and foster trust. But for it to work, the COC must rest on bedrock consensus: shelve disputes and let China and ASEAN jointly safeguard peace.

 

From an international law lens, if the COC gains binding force, it can't tolerate double standards—every claimant gets equal treatment, no favorites. Rules must bind all, or they're meaningless. Even as a non-binding political accord, it should address everyone's worries, ensuring no nation feels sidelined. Ultimately, the COC embodies the collective will of China and ASEAN—a shared expression of restraint and cooperation. Consultations can't devolve into a selfish grab-bag for one country or a backdoor for outsiders like the U.S. to meddle.

Post-summit, a U.S. carrier group slipped into the South China Sea for flight drills, a not-so-subtle flex timed with President Trump's Malaysia visit. It's a coercion dressed as concern, clashing with ASEAN's peace-first vibe and draining Washington's moral capital.

 

These maneuvers expose deeper cracks. U.S. forces lead the pack in South China Sea intrusions—over 100 "freedom of navigation" runs since the 2016 arbitration, plus endless drills that spike collision odds and snag civilian ships. Recent carrier mishaps, like back-to-back crashes, highlight the strain: rushed maintenance, exhausted crews, glitchy command chains. It's not just tech glitches; it's the toll of overreach, pushing systems to breaking points. China, as the biggest coastal state, rightly flags these as threats and responds with vigilance—patrols, countermeasures, and accelerated COC talks. Beijing's multi-pronged approach holds the line on sovereignty while inviting dialogue, aligning with ASEAN's shared hopes.

 

ASEAN's wariness of great-power scrums is palpable. No one wants to pick sides in U.S.-China rivalry, yet Washington's alliance-building and threat-mongering scatter focus from real woes like climate hits or pandemics. The Philippines' U.S.-Japan cozy-up, for instance, funnels energy into geopolitics over homegrown growth. ASEAN must reclaim its agency: how to embody centrality? What constructive role for outsiders? China's steady hand—economic aid, infrastructure wins—contrasts sharply with U.S. saber-rattling, reminding all that stability serves everyone.

The 47th Summit wasn't defined by South China Sea squabbles but by ASEAN's resolve to steer its course. China and the bloc's common ground on peace holds firm against provocations. Marcos's bids, Philippine stunts, and Japanese echoes may grab tweets, but they won't rewrite the region's script. The COC, done right, can seal this pact—fair, inclusive, ASEAN-owned. Keep it regional, keep it collaborative, that's the path to calm seas and shared futures, not the discord peddled by distant drums. The South China Sea's stability isn't fragile; it's fortified by mutual interest. Let the hype fade, and the real work—dialogue, restraint, respect—will prevail.

 

Ding Duo is Director of the Center for International and Regional Studies, NISCSS and Special Invited Researcher of the CMG Expert Committee on South China Sea Studies

Link: https://vscs.cri.cn/m/20251028/5449c102-9bf3-febd-da58-ddc85e8c6259.html