Carlos P. Romulo Foundation to hold Spratlys forum Oct. 17

The Carlos P. Romulo Foundation for Peace and Development (CPRFPD) and the Singapore-based Institute of South East Asian Studies will hold on October 17 a forum on the West Philippine Sea to “help more clearly define the South China Sea issue in its totality.”

The conference also aims to “help governments in  conducting their official dialogues with one another,” said the Makati City-based CPRFPD, which is dedicated to the late diplomat and journalist Carlos P. Romulo’s “dream of living in a world that is fair, secure and peaceful.”

Aside from the Philippines and China, the Spratly Islands in the West Philippine Sea are also being claimed wholly or partly by Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

In a statement, the organization said the Embassy of China had agreed to nominate speakers for the affair, which will be chaired by former Foreign Affairs Secretary Domingo Siazon Jr.

“There will be 23 notable former officials and authorities from the academe in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries, as well as China, Australia, India, Canada, and the United States and Europe,” it also said.

The CPRFPD noted that tensions between claimants to the potentially oil-rich waters of the South China Sea, where a quarter of the world’s shipping passes, had risen to potentially dangerous levels with incidents involving China, the Philippines and Vietnam in recent months.

“All claimants agree that the disputes should be resolved through peaceful means, including dialogue, although progress has been slow,” it said. Jerry E. Esplanada