‘One question begging to be asked by Filipinos is this: With our limited role in this European conflict, what topic or idea can President Marcos contribute to the discussion…’
THE governments of Switzerland and Ukraine are co-hosting the Summit on Peace in Ukraine which is touted as an ambitious meeting for Ukraine’s ongoing effort to rally global support for its vision for a just and lasting peace in that country. The high-level summit is scheduled from June 15 to 16 and will be attended by some 90 heads of state, government, institutions and organizations interested in seeing the dove of peace fly over Ukraine.
In November 2022, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy put forward a 10-point peace plan and embarked on a world tour to gather support for the plan. At least three of the items in this peace plan will be discussed in the summit to be held in a resort near Lucerne, Switzerland. These are nuclear security, food security, and the release of prisoners of war and abducted Ukrainian children.
Zelenskyy, earlier this month, visited Manila to personally invite President Marcos Jr to attend the summit and thanked Marcos for the Philippines’ participation.
Any event that is touted to be attended by many nations, the sending out of invitations, the acceptance, and the level of government officials sent to represent the head of state or head of government become statements of foreign policy that signals to the organizers how such invitation or cause is regarded.
Malacañang has announced that President Marcos Jr. is sending Peace and Unity Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr. to the summit. Should the fact that Marcos is sending only Secretary Galvez to this important meeting reflect on how the Philippines regard the Ukraine issue? A Palace official said Marcos is sending Galvez to represent him as the invitation to the President had come late, and Marcos has a full schedule during the summit dates. This sounds very much like a lame excuse, considering Zelenskyy personally visited Bongbong to extend this invitation.
We note that the United States and other NATO member-nations were also invited. US President Joe Biden is not attending and will send Vice President Kamala Harris. Russia is not invited, obviously, but any peace process concerning Ukraine should have the participation of Russia, being the country that started it all. China, too, is not invited, although the China Foreign Ministry said they would not have sent any representative even if invited.
Interestingly, a simple event that has the potential to be the first step towards peace in that part of the world has even the unintended effect of dividing the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The Philippines, Singapore and Thailand are attending while Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and others are not sending representatives.
Could this both warm and lukewarm acceptance of Switzerland and Ukraine’s invitation to the peace summit by various ASEAN-member countries be an indication of their basic local contradictions vis-a-vis the geopolitical questions in the Indo-Pacific region?
This did not deter Switzerland’s enthusiasm from announcing that some 90 states and associations are expected to participate. The Swiss organizers said roughly half the countries taking part will be represented by heads of state or government, and they will come from South America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
Zelenskyy said if Ukraine completely falls and Russia succeeds in occupying their territory, the war could extend to other continents, including Asia.
One question begging to be asked by Filipinos is this: With our limited role in this European conflict, what topic or idea can President Marcos contribute to the discussion – that one thing for which the national government is spending several thousands of pesos for Carlito Galvez and his staff’s attendance in that Swiss meeting?
