Aquino: Peace with MILF by yearend

President Benigno Aquino III. AP

RUSSKIY ISLAND, Vladivostok, Russia—President Benigno Aquino is confident he would be signing a peace agreement with Muslim rebels within the year, with Malaysia’s leader, whose government is brokering the talks between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), keen on attending the event.

Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said that in a bilateral meeting with Malaysia Prime Minister Dato Sri Mohd Najib Bin Tun Abdul Razak Sunday morning, President Aquino conveyed his “expectation that the peace process could be finalized in the next couple of months.”

“In that event, the Prime Minister of Malaysia expressed a desire to be present at the signing,” said Del Rosario.

Del Rosario said Mr. Aquino thanked Razak for Malaysia’s “continuing leadership” as a peace facilitator and praised Malaysia’s effective brokering of the peace talks. Del Rosario said Razak had been described as an “honest broker and very proactive.”

Last Saturday, the Philippine peace panel successfully ended four days of exploratory talks with the MILF in Kuala Lumpur. Philippine chief negotiator Marvic Leonen and MILF peace panel chair Mohagher Iqbal reported in a joint statement that they “reached substantive gains in the negotiations” through the facilitation of Malaysia.

Aside from Malaysia’s key role in the peace talks, Del Rosario said Malaysia had also reiterated its support for the Philippines’ position of a regional stand on the territorial dispute with China on islands straddling the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) border.

“There was a very good discussion on how to be constructive in terms of addressing the challenge of the West Philippine Sea and, I think, what was decided on that was the code of conduct would be encouraged in terms of finalization and then we will to try to move this forward,” said Del Rosario.

Mr. Aquino and Razak also discussed trade issues that would enhance the traffic of goods between the Philippine and Malaysia.

After Malaysia, President Aquino also met with Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang, wherein the two discussed their mutual interest against China’s alarming moves to take control of islands beyond the latter’s borders.

“It was a very good meeting. It was a renewal of the deep friendship between our two countries and the common challenges that we face in terms of the disputes in the West Philippine Sea. We are looking at initiatives to be able to cooperate more closely with each other in terms of dealing with the challenges that face both of us. Vietnam has been a partner of the Philippines,” said Del Rosario.