INDONESIA is ready to work with other Southeast Asian countries to finalize a long-delayed code of conduct in the South China Sea, the country’s foreign minister, Retno Marsudi, said yesterday during a joint briefing with Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo.
The briefing came hours before the arrival of Indonesian President Joko Widodo who will be on a three-day official visit to Manila.
“On the South China Sea, Indonesia is ready to work together with all ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) member states including the Philippines to finalize the code of conduct as soon as possible,” Retno said.
“Jakarta is also ready to work with ASEAN countries to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea,” she added.
The ASEAN and China have for years been trying to create a framework to negotiate a code of conduct, a plan dating as far back as 2002. But progress has been slow despite commitments by all parties to advance and expedite the process.
China stakes its claim on its maps with the use of a “nine-dash line” that loops as far as 1,500 km south of its mainland, cutting into the exclusive economic zones of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. A 2016 international arbitral tribunal ruling invalidated most of China’s claims, a decision that Beijing has rejected.
All claimants, except Brunei, have stationed troops in the respective islands they are claiming as their own in the disputed waterway through which more than $5 trillion in goods passes annually.
Indonesia, although not among the claimant countries in the South China Sea, is a major power within the regional bloc.
President Marcos Jr. and Chinese President Xi Jinping reaffirmed their commitment to finally come up with a code of conduct when they met at the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in 2022.
A legally binding code is expected to ease tension and lessen the chance for military confrontation in the area while enhancing confidence building measures among the claimant countries.
VELOSO CASE
Manalo said he reiterated Manila’s request for executive clemency for Filipina Mary Jane Veloso who has been in prison in Indonesia since 2010.
“I did raise the issue. We’re working to find a way to resolve the case, ‘yung clemency,” Manalo told reporters after he attended the 7th Philippines-Indonesia Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) with his Indonesian counterpart.
Asked what Retno’s response, Manalo said, “working on it.”
“Sinabi ko ang ginagawa natin (I told her we are working on that),” he added.
The DFA sought executive clemency for Velasco in September 2022.
On Monday, Migrante International asked President Marcos to raise the issue of Veloso’s clemency and freedom during his talks with the Indonesian president, set for today.
Marcos and Jokowi, the name Widodo is commonly called, are expected to reaffirm their commitment to further deepening the ties between Manila and Jakarta.
Today is the 39th birthday of Veloso who was apprehended by Indonesian authorities at the Yogyakarta airport in 2010 for bringing in some two kilograms of heroin.
Veloso’s family said she was tricked into carrying the parcel that contained the illegal drugs.
Widodo stopped Veloso’s execution on April 29, 2015 after then President Benigno Aquino III appealed her case and explained that her testimony is vital in the case she has filed against her recruiters.
Marcos earlier said he has asked Widodo to reexamine Veloso’s case considering she is a victim of illegal recruitment and human trafficking, on the sidelines of the 42nd ASEAN Summit in May last year.
But Widodo, according to Marcos, maintained Indonesia is just implementing its law against drug trafficking.
However, Marcos said he told Widodo to take a look at the case again as a favor to Manila.
MANILA-JAKARTA TIES
Manalo said he and his Indonesian counterpart took stock of the progress in the implementation of the bilateral priorities in the Philippines-Indonesia Plan of Action 2022-2027, which they signed on the sidelines of the state visit of Marcos to Indonesia on September 2022.
The Plan of Action covers cooperation in political and security; border issues; regional and global issues; economic cooperation; sociocultural and people-to-people exchange; and judicial and consular matters between the two countries.
“We committed to continue implementing our Plan of Action towards further elevating our bilateral relations to new heights, especially as we mark the 75th Anniversary of Philippines-Indonesia Diplomatic Relations this year,” Manalo said.
He said they also exchanged views on regional and international issues, including the South China Sea, the situation in Myanmar, and in the Middle East, among others.
“Our time-honored partnership has positively evolved in a way that enables us to address the many developments through the years in our bilateral relationship, as well as the changing regional and global landscapes,” he added. — With Reuters
