Philippines calls N. Korea rocket launch ‘unacceptable’

PHNOM PENH – The Philippines said on Monday it expected Southeast Asian nations to support its protest against North Korea’s “unacceptable” planned rocket launch.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario told reporters he intended to raise the issue with his regional counterparts as he headed into a meeting of foreign ministers of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian (ASEAN) in the Cambodian capital.

Manila announced on Sunday it had lodged diplomatic protests over the launch with Pyongyang representatives at the United Nations, in China, and in ASEAN nations attending the group’s annual summit in Phnom Penh this week.

Asked whether he thought his fellow ASEAN members would be supportive of Manila’s stance on the launch, del Rosario said: “I think so. Because it violates the UN resolutions for one and number two it’s unacceptable.”

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa called for “a very clear and clarion call that we would not want to see further undermining of the conditions on the Korean peninsula.”

Kurt Campbell, the US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, reportedly said last month the rocket launch would impact “in an area roughly between Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines.”

Pyongyang announced last month it would launch a rocket between April 12-16 to place a satellite in orbit, sparking alarm in the region.

The United States and other nations say the planned launch is a disguised ballistic missile test, and would breach a UN ban on North Korean missile launches.