DND chief Gazmin: Clinton’s Asean appeal inspires regional unity

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of National Defense on Tuesday welcomed United States Secretary of State Hilary Clinton appeal to Southeast Asian states to agree on a code of conduct in dealing with territorial disputes in the West Philippine Sea.

“That’s what we’ve been hoping for… to have only one voice; we can say the Asean way, Asean centrality only one voice,” DND Secretary Voltaire Gazmin told reporters in a phone interview.

“If we’re united we can deal with a major country. What we’re after here is a united solution within the Asean and third party countries, a principle that’s universally acceptable,” he added.

He said the code of conduct should be finalized to avoid confrontation in the disputed waters.

Clinton made her statement in Jakarta on Monday to offer strong US support for Asean countries to reach a consensus on enforcing a code of conduct in dealing with China over the disputed waters.