Joint Statement of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat (AMM retreat) 2026: Several Key Points

 

On 29 January 2026, the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat (AMM Retreat) 2026 was held in Cebu City, Philippines. This marked the first major activity of the Philippines’ ASEAN Chairmanship in 2026. The meeting issued a Press Statement containing several points related to the South China Sea:

 

(i) The Ministers noted the Philippines’ proposal for the 48th ASEAN Summit to issue a Declaration on Maritime Cooperation, which would include concrete initiatives for cooperation.

 

(ii) The Ministers expressed concerns over land reclamation activities, serious incidents, and developments in the South China Sea, including actions that endanger maritime safety and harm the marine environment.

 

(iii) The Ministers reaffirmed the need to resolve disputes through peaceful means in accordance with international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and emphasized the importance of the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC).

 

(iv) The Ministers reiterated efforts to conclude negotiations on an effective and substantive Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC), consistent with international law, particularly UNCLOS, within 2026.

 

Several notable points can be highlighted from the statement:

 

1. ASEAN statements have increasingly expressed more specific concerns regarding the South China Sea. Since the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) Statement in 2023, ASEAN statements have begun to explicitly refer to “serious incidents in the region,” including “actions that endanger lives and damage the marine environment.” (The AMM Retreat Statements in 2024 and 2025 were exceptions, as they only referred more generally to “actions.”)

 

2. The AMM Retreat Statement sets a specific timeline for attempting to conclude negotiations on the COC “in 2026.” This will be an important issue to monitor during the Philippines’ ASEAN Chairmanship in 2026. In 2023, ASEAN and China agreed on a three-year timeline to complete the COC negotiations, targeting completion in 2026. Prior to assuming the rotating chairmanship, the Philippines had repeatedly expressed its intention to strongly advance the negotiation process and work toward signing the COC during its tenure. However, many assessments suggest that the prospects for reaching consensus on the COC remain uncertain, as the parties have yet to agree on several key provisions, and recent confrontations in the South China Sea could become obstacles to the negotiations.