Duterte presses nonviolent resolution to Korean conflict

DINNER CHAT President Duterte chats with Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi during a summit welcome dinner hosted by South Korean President Moon Jae-in at Hilton Busan Hotel on Monday. —MALACAÑANG PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte returned to Manila on Tuesday night after a “productive” participation in the 2019 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)-Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit in Busan, South Korea.

Malacañang said the President called for more strategic and preventive collective action to deal with threats to regional peace and security such as terrorism and violent extremism, drug trafficking, piracy and other maritime security problems, as well as marine conservation, and climate change-related matters during the summit.

Nonmilitarization

The Asean leaders and South Korea President Moon Jae-in adopted the cochairs statement, where they called for the peaceful resolution of the South China Sea disputes in accordance with international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

“They also stressed the importance of nonmilitarization and self-restraint by claimants and all other states,” the Palace said in an arrival statement released on Tuesday night.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said earlier on Tuesday that President Duterte pressed for a nonviolent resolution to the conflict on the Korean Peninsula on Monday.

He said Duterte expressed support for South Korea’s position in the conflict with North Korea, but did not offer specific proposals for the resolution of the conflict.

“There’s really nothing we can do since we’re not a nuclear power. Just the fact that we support the denuclearization of the peninsula, I think, is a strong action from our side,” said Lorenzana, who was present during the meeting on Monday afternoon.

Asked if Duterte raised the disputes in the South China Sea between China and Asean countries, including the Philippines, Lorenzana said it was not on the agenda.

“Nothing. He didn’t mention that,” Lorenzana said.

President Duterte arrived in Busan, 450 kilometers south of Seoul, early on Monday for the summit.

The Palace noted that in a bilateral meeting, Duterte and Moon agreed to elevate the Philippines-South Korea relations to a “strategic partnership.”

Agreements signed

The two leaders oversaw the signing of agreements on social security, tourism cooperation, and a joint statement on the progress of talks for a free-trade deal between the Philippines and South Korea.

Agreements on education and fisheries cooperation were also signed in separate ceremonies in Busan.

Duterte invited Moon to make a state visit to the Philippines at the soonest mutually convenient opportunity, the Palace said.—WITH A REPORT
FROM JEROME ANING