Welcome to Foreign Policy’s Southeast Asia Brief.

The highlights this week: The Philippines pushes for a South China Sea deal, Indonesian stocks tumble, the Philippines’ president and vice president face impeachment, and Cambodia quietly rebuilds ties with the United States.

Welcome to Foreign Policy’s Southeast Asia Brief.

The highlights this week: The Philippines pushes for a South China Sea deal, Indonesian stocks tumble, the Philippines’ president and vice president face impeachment, and Cambodia quietly rebuilds ties with the United States.

The Philippines Pushes for a South China Sea Deal

The Philippines wants to conclude negotiations on a South China Sea code of conduct between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China this year, Foreign Secretary Maria Theresa Lazaro said at an ASEAN retreat last week. The Philippines is chair of ASEAN for 2026.

A code of conduct would be aimed at managing disputes in the crucial waterway. China’s “nine-dash line” claims swathes of the South China Sea, which overlaps with the claims of five ASEAN countries: Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

Various ASEAN claims also overlap. But most of the trouble is with China, whose expansive claims and aggressive conduct weigh particularly heavily on the Philippines.

Talks on the issue have dragged for decades. In order to make a breakthrough, Lazaro said an ASEAN working group will hold monthly meetings on the matter. China has not agreed yet to join the meetings.

Points of contention include geographic scope, legally binding elements, and definitions of “self-restraint.”

Historically, two major issues for talks have been China’s reluctance to negotiate with ASEAN as a bloc and ASEAN’s own internal divisions on the matter.

To make matters worse, relations between China and the Philippines are at a low ebb.

The Chinese Embassy in Manila has embarked on a messy and public row over comments made by Philippine Coast Guard officer Jay Tarriela. The embassy has accused him of defaming China and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The Philippines’ political reaction has been furious, with some calling for China’s ambassador to be expelled. However, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. rejected that idea.

This comes against the backdrop of years of raised tensions between China and the Philippines. Marcos’s strengthening of security........

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