In agreeing to engage China in negotiations for a code of conduct in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) is sending a clear message to Beijing: It’s time to view the territorial disputes in the sea as a regional problem and they must be solved through regional, not bilateral, action.
An anti- human trafficking group is urging the Asean Experts Working Group, which is now meeting here in the Philippines, to come up with a “regional comprehensive approach” to address this problem in Southeast Asia.
President Aquino emerged from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit on Thursday upbeat about the prospects of a maritime code of conduct with China to minimize the risk of conflict in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).
Southeast Asian leaders on Thursday called for urgent talks with China to ensure that increasingly tense territorial disputes over the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) did not escalate into violence.
President Benigno Aquino III said here Wednesday night he was not rushing the study of the Philippines’ complex claim to Sabah, arguing that any solution should be acceptable to all parties.
Competing claims to the South China Sea have for decades been a source of tension in the region. China’s increasing assertiveness in staking its claim in recent years has caused concern for neighboring countries, particularly the Philippines and Vietnam.
Southeast Asian leaders will meet in Brunei on Wednesday hoping to heal wounds from infighting over relations with China, while building momentum towards groundbreaking economic partnerships.
Sultan of Brunei Haji Hassanal Bolkiah flew in Monday for a brief 24-hour-long state visit to the Philippines ahead of next week’s 22nd summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Brunei.
Sen. Serge Osmeña said on Thursday the Philippines should seek regional cooperation to stop the entry of smuggled petroleum products into the country, reportedly mainly from Malaysia and Indonesia.
The Philippines ranks “relatively higher” in terms of human development compared with other Asean member-countries and is making progress in meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).
US President Barack Obama pledged Tuesday to bring up maritime disputes boiling between China and its neighbors at the US-Asean and East Asia summits in Brunei in October.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) expressed on Tuesday its support for Brunei’s move to pursue a code of conduct among claimants to the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) as the sultanate assumed the chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) this January.
