MANILA – President Benigno Aquino III remains bullish on the crafting of a binding code of conduct (COC) in the South China Sea. At the Presidential Forum of the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP), Aquino pointed out that the first meeting has already been held in Suzhou, China to discuss the formulation of the code aimed at easing tensions in the disputed territory, recognized in the Philippines as the West Philippine Sea. The president said the Philippines will continue to pursue arbitration before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea despite China's refusal to take part in the proceedings. "From the time in 2002 to 2013, we are starting to sit down and everybody has to show that image of cooperating and crafting the COC, which will undoubtedly ease the tension," Aquino said. "We are undergoing arbitration. We are pursuing a second track with the COC. At the end of the day, either or both will seek to clarify everybody's entitlement with regards to this body of water." Aquino said the code is important as the Declaration on the Conduct of the Parties in the South China Sea, which was crafted in 2002, was merely "motherhood principles, which had no operational components and was not in a sense legally binding." - ANC Dateline Philippines, 23 October 2013