The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is set to forge ahead with finishing the Code of Conduct with China over the South China Sea (SCS) by 2021. Vietnam’s goal for ASEAN to arrive at an agreement with China over the SCS during its 2020 term was hampered and will continue to be affected by the onset of the novel coronavirus pandemic. The Vietnamese government, led by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, signaled at the beginning of their term, its move to gain the support of like-minded ASEAN countries to move together and steer ASEAN geopolitics to lessening China’s dominance over the SCS.

Philippines leads the way in ‘9-dash-line’ dispute vs China. (2020, May 20). Daily Guardian, pp. 1, 8.