DFA: Preservation of rules-based global order is every nation’s responsibility

Department of Foreign Affairs Sec. Enrique Manalo. Senate PRIB file photo

MANILA, Philippines — The preservation of a rules-based global order is every nation’s responsibility, said Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Enrique Manalo during the 78th United Nations General Assembly on Sunday.

Manalo represented the country at the event held in New York City, USA on behalf of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

“The preservation of a rules-based global order is our collective responsibility. The UN is underwritten by a rules-based order governed by international law and informed by the principles of equity and of justice,” he said.

The DFA chief noted that the country is “actively” working with other nations to promote a rules-based international order.

“We advocate the peaceful settlement of disputes, in accordance with international law,” he added.

“This has always been our position with respect to the disputes in the West Philippine Sea, inasmuch as we are prepared to defend our sovereignty, sovereign rights and territorial integrity,” he furthered.

Manalo also quoted Marcos’s statement that the Philippines is a “friend to all and enemy to none.”

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“Our Constitution renounces war as an instrument of national policy, adopts the generally accepted principles of international law as part of the law of the land and adheres to a policy of peace, equality, justice, freedom, cooperation, and amity with all nations,” he said.

He likewise affirmed the country’s winning in the 2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea which “definitively settled the status of historic rights and maritime entitlements in the South China Sea.”

“For the past seven years, we have celebrated the Award, which is now part of international law,” Manalo said.

JPV