PRESIDENT Marcos Jr. yesterday said the Philippines is committed to the implementation of the Declaration of the Conduct of Parties and the early conclusion of an effective and substantive Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.
At the 42nd ASEAN Summit Retreat Session held in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia, Marcos urged member-countries to abide by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS) “as the constitution of the ocean” to make sure that the South China Sea “does not become a nexus for armed conflict.”
“We must avoid the ascendance of might and the aggressive revision of the international order. In an increasingly volatile world, we require constraints on power contained by the force of the rule of law,” he said.
Marcos was in Indonesia from May 9 for the 42nd ASEAN Summit. He returned to the country shortly before 6 p.m. yesterday.
“I believe that the summit was a success and that it chartered the new directions that were initiated by the chairman, President Widodo, and with the concurrence of all the member-states. And, many new ideas were ventilated and many of those were adopted. And, we hopefully see some progress on the political front, and certainly on the economic front,” he said in his arrival speech.
The regional leaders, according to Widodo, will not give up trying to end violence in fellow member Myanmar even though the ruling military there has made no progress on a peace plan it agreed with the bloc two years ago.
Frustration has mounted among some members of the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations with Myanmar and how to handle its bloody political turmoil that has raised questions about the group’s effectiveness and unity.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo was forthright in his criticism, saying Myanmar’s generals had made no progress on a five-point ASEAN peace plan.
He also said human rights violations in Myanmar could not be tolerated and violence there should be halted and its people protected.
Myanmar has been in violent turmoil since the army overthrew a government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021. The coup triggered widespread protests that the military crushed. The army has since been fighting ethnic minority insurgents seeking self-determination and allied pro-democracy fighters.
ASEAN last month condemned the Myanmar military over one of its latest and most deadly air strikes that killed at least 100 people. The junta says it is fighting “terrorists.”
As ASEAN chair, Indonesia has been talking to all sides in recent months in an attempt to get talks going but the criticism from Indonesia on Thursday underscored the absence of any results.
Marcos, at the retreat session, said a rules-based “regional architecture” should be supported by the “centrality of ASEAN” towards inclusive engagement in the Indo-Pacific, as exemplified in the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific which highlighted the four priority areas of cooperation of the ASEAN Outlook that will serve as guideposts.
Marcos said that as an archipelagic maritime nation, the Philippines advocates rules-based maritime order anchored on the 1982 UNCLOS, noting that the country’s concern over the recent incidents in the South China Sea particularly the infringements on its sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction, which have been affecting local fishermen and coastal communities.
“Despite the continued incidents of Filipino vessels in our waters and attempts to deny and obstruct our ability to exercise our sovereign rights in our exclusive economic zone, the Philippines will remain firm in upholding and protecting our entitlements under UNCLOS,” Marcos said.
Marcos also called for utmost restraint and immediate cessation of violence in Myanmar and expressed concern over the heightened tension in the Korean Peninsula, and the humanitarian crisis and the continuing economic impact caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
“We continue to call on Myanmar to abide by and implement the Five-Point Consensus, and for our external partners to complement ASEAN’s efforts in the context of the Five-Point Consensus,” Marcos said, adding that the Philippines fully supports Indonesia’s initiatives on the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus.
“The Philippines consistently underscores the need for the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) to abide by prevailing UN Security Council Resolutions and to engage in dialogue with concerned parties towards the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” Marcos said.
On the Russia-Ukraine conflict and its possible escalation through the use of nuclear weapons, Marcos urged the countries concerned to search for a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
He said the voice of the Philippines in the international community “can only be stronger when it is part of a chorus that represents our collective purpose.”
“The decisiveness of ASEAN and the effectiveness and capacity of the ASEAN-led regional architecture in demonstrating and asserting its Centrality in the region will determine whether ASEAN truly matters,” he added.
“The future of this region must be determined by ASEAN and ASEAN alone. In this decisive moment, let us continue to work together to ensure that ASEAN truly and undoubtedly matters.”
MORE MILITARY DRILLS
US Army chief of staff Gen. James McConville met separately with AFP chief Gen. Andres Centino and Army chief Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr on Wednesday.
Interviewed after his meeting with McConville at the Army headquarters in Fort Bonifacio, Brawner said the visit of the American general signifies the “desire of both armies to strengthen our relations.”
Brawner said he and McConville discussed the conduct of more exercises between the two armies.
“Even from the time that I visited Gen. McConvilled at Pentagon (in March), we’ve been discussing about how we can further strengthen our relations through exercises, more exercises, more trainings and exchanges of students and also subject matter experts,” said Brawner.
Army spokesman Col. Xerxes Trinidad said the two Army leaders “emphasized the need to bolster the Philippine Army-US Army interoperability” during their meeting.
Trinidad said Brawner, McConville and their staff also “affirmed their commitment to ensure and sustain a free and open Indo-Pacific region.”
McConville also met with Centino at the AFP headquarters at Camp Aguinaldo.
In a statement, the military said Centino and McConville “discussed the growing bilateral relationship between the Philippines and the United States” which it said was highlighted by the recent visit of President Marcos Jr to Washington.
The statement said Centino and McConville “affirmed that the increase in engagements is geared towards preventing conflict, advancing rules-based international order, and maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region.”
It quoted McConville as saying training exercises and high-level engagements between the two militaries are signs of “increasing partnership.”
“We’ve been friends and allies for a long time, and I think it is important that we stay that way. In fact, [I think it’s better that] we become better friends, partners, and allies in the future,” said McConville.
MYANMAR ISSUE
Jokowi called for unity on Myanmar.
“ASEAN unity is required to decide on the next steps,” he said, adding “engagement does not mean recognition.”
ASEAN, which for years lived by the principle of not interfering in each other’s internal affairs, has barred Myanmar junta leaders from attending its high-level meetings over its failure to implement the plan.
ASEAN secretary general Kao Kim Hourn told Reuters on the sidelines of the summit that the plan would still serve as the foundation for engaging with the junta.
“What we should be doing is to ensure that violence is eliminated. That is the bottom line,” he said.
“They say if want to reach a destination you run, if you cannot run you walk, and if you cannot walk you crawl. As long as there is a movement forward, there is progress.”
Malaysia’s foreign minister, Zambry Abdul Kadir, said the bloc was serious about Myanmar “but it had to come as a force together.”
“Everyone wants to find a peaceful solution, and a lasting one,” he said.
While Myanmar loomed over this week’s talks the group also discussed growing tensions in the South China Sea, which China largely claims despite the over-lapping claims of some ASEAN members.
Indonesia called for self-restraint in resolving territorial disputes in the strategic waterway.
“We welcomed ongoing efforts to strengthen cooperation between ASEAN and China and were encouraged by progress … toward an early conclusion of a … Code of Conduct,” Indonesia said in a chair’s statement released as the summit closed. — With Victor Reyes and Reuters
