He made the point in contrast with the position taken by China that the ongoing negotiations on the code of conduct must not be legally binding.

“For 15 years since we have had the DOC, what have you seen on the ground? What have you seen at sea? We have seen any kind of tension,” Minh said. He was using an acronym for the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, issued by ASEAN and China in 2002 to ensure regional stability while the claimants work for peaceful resolution of their disputes.

Calling the declaration important yet essentially political and not having any legally binding character, the veteran Vietnamese diplomat said the guidelines have not been implemented effectively or fully, with certain countries using them to suit their own interests.

Minh, who is leaving his post on December 31, said there is a need for a legally binding instrument that “legally, not politically” binds all parties to rules. “There is no other way to make [the code of conduct] effective.”

Before taking up his position, Minh was a career diplomat serving as Vietnam’s permanent representative to the United Nations. The incoming ASEAN chief is Lim Jock Hoi, permanent secretary of Brunei’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

China, which claims almost the entire South China Sea, has reclaimed a number of disputed reefs and fortified them with military features over the past several years.

Four countries in the 10-member ASEAN – Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam – have claims in the sea that overlap with those of China and Taiwan.

Chinese activities also have fuelled concerns among other countries, notably the United States and Japan, which Beijing regards as “outsiders.”

In July 2016, an international arbitration court ruled in favour of the Philippines, declaring China’s sweeping claims to the South China Sea as having no legal basis. But Beijing has rejected the ruling.

In August, foreign ministers from ASEAN and China adopted a framework for a code of conduct on ways to defuse tensions in the South China Sea, including preambles of objectives and principles.

And during a meeting involving ASEAN and Chinese leaders in Manila on Monday, they agreed to start negotiating the code. ASEAN diplomatic sources said the talks will begin in Vietnam in March.

But getting the Chinese to agree to make the code legally binding appears to remain a challenge, with the Chinese said to be unwilling to commit to such a deal.

In another part of the interview, Minh said that ASEAN, to be relevant to today’s and tomorrow’s world, needs to move from its old ways to respond to any challenges more promptly and effectively, including by being “creative and flexible.”

He noted that there have been calls for amending the ASEAN Charter, particularly the part that says all organisational decisions shall be made by consensus, meaning any member can veto a decision deemed not in line with its own interests.

The principle of consensus is considered to be the main hurdle having hampered decision-making processes at the ASEAN level.

Approval of the proposed amendment would mean, Minh said, “if one member state cannot agree on what nine others have agreed, then ASEAN can still proceed to the agreement.”