Manila, April 24 -- The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China are "politically committed" to concluding the Code of Conduct (COC) on the South China Sea by 2026, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said Thursday.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Maritime Security Forum in Manila, the Filipino top diplomat said "everyone has agreed" that they "would like to have a code by 2026".

"We are all politically committed to achieving, having a code by next year. But we will see. We will try our best," he said.

Manalo said there are still issues to address and would require the consensus of all 10 ASEAN member states and China.

"As the President said, we still have to address important issues such as the scope of the code...