MANILA - The Philippines aims to facilitate the final crafting of a framework for a legally binding "code of conduct" in the South China Sea between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China when it hosts the regional bloc's meetings this year, a Philippine diplomat said Thursday.

"One of our main goals is to try and arrive at a framework for the code of conduct in the South China Sea by the end of the year. That will be one of our main priorities," Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Enrique Manalo said at a news briefing about the Philippines' ASEAN chairmanship this year, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the founding of the 10-member grouping.

Discussions on the code between China and ASEAN, four of whose members -- the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei -- have claims in the South China Sea that overlap those of China, have taken place for over a decade already, amid the lingering tensions in the waters.

"The whole purpose of the code of conduct is to try and see how these disputes can be managed in a peaceful way, in a non-confrontational way. And this is the position that the Philippines and other ASEAN countries will be taking when we discuss a possible framework for the code of conduct," Manalo said.

China has aggressively asserted its claims in the disputed waters by reclaiming reefs and then installing concrete structures, including those military in nature, despite having jointly signed with ASEAN the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea that urges claimants to "exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities that would complicate or escalate disputes and affect peace and stability."

In July last year, foreign ministers of ASEAN and China "committed to the full and effective implementation of the DOC in its entry and working substantively towards the early adoption of a code of conduct in the South China Sea based on consensus."

After that statement, the on-and-off consultations between ASEAN and China for the adoption of the code of conduct resumed.

But despite the new momentum, Manalo admits that coming up with a framework for the code is a challenge considering reports about China's militarization of the artificial islands it built in the disputed areas of the South China Sea.

"It's not only the Philippines who faces this challenge, but other claimant states in the region (as well)...That in itself is already a major challenge, which we will have to face during the year, to see if we can come up with a framework which would involve the agreement of China and the rest of the ASEAN countries," he said.

The diplomat said that while the South China Sea disputes will be on the agenda of this year's ASEAN meetings, last July's ruling by an international tribunal will not "because it already exists, it's already part of the international law."

He was referring to the Philippines' winning of an arbitration case it lodged against China at the U.N.-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, which ruled that claim over almost the entire South China Sea has no legal basis. China has rejected the ruling as "null and void."

"The Hague ruling is a fact. It's a fact of law. So, there's nothing really to discuss about it. It's there, and it's up for all countries to observe it as they wish," Manalo said in explaining why it need not be brought up at the ASEAN meetings.

The Philippines will formally launch its hosting of the ASEAN meetings on Jan. 15 in Davao City, the hometown of President Rodrigo Duterte, on the southern island of Mindanao.

The leaders' summits are scheduled in April and November, while the ministers' meetings, which will also coincide with the 50th ASEAN anniversary celebration, are set for August.

The Philippines is carrying the theme, "Partnering for Change, Engaging the World," for this year's ASEAN meetings.

The other members of ASEAN, which are not parties to the disputes in the South China Sea, are Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore and Thailand.