Palace encouraged by supportive statements of allies on peaceful solution to WPS row

From the Philippine News Agency (Jun 3): Palace encouraged by supportive statements of allies on peaceful solution to WPS row

Malacanang welcomed on Tuesday the supportive statements of allies and other countries who agreed that the best way to tackle the row on the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) is through seeking a peaceful settlement.

Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr., in a Palace media briefing, said that Malacanang has always emphasized the importance of ASEAN centrality in dealing with such matters.

He noted that during the ASEAN Summit in Myanmar last month, the heads of ASEAN states and governments affirmed the importance of fleshing out a Code of Conduct on the South China Sea.

“Together with the other ASEAN nations, we are advocating the fleshing out of the Code of Conduct,” Coloma said. “We see this as the important opportunity for institutionalizing peace and stability in the region arising from the disputes in the South China Sea.”

Coloma said that in the last ASEAN Summit, most or almost all of the countries in the region have already expressed their support for the Philippine advocacy.

“…We have seen important progress made in our advocacy and we continue to be encouraged by all of these developments,” the PCOO chief stressed.

Furthermore, Coloma noted that in the 13th Asia Security Summit held over the weekend in Singapore, the participants affirmed the importance of respecting the rule of law as the key to regional stability.

“The Philippines’ key allies, namely the United States, Australia, and Japan, expressed similar views that support our country’s basic position on the importance of seeking peaceful settlement of disputes,” Coloma said.

“As the President pointed out in recent interviews with the international press, 40 percent of world commerce passes through the South China Sea; hence, it is important that freedom of navigation, as well as freedom of aviation be upheld as emphasized in the ASEAN-Japan Summit last December 2013,” he added.

On another note, the PCOO chief also pointed out that despite the sea row, the relationship between the Philippines and China does not “define the totality” of its relations.

“We still would like to envision a situation where there will be continuing stability in the South China Sea, as we have pointed out its strategic importance not just to regional, but to global commerce and trade,” he said.

“This is the condition that we see for further stability and economic growth in our region,” he added.

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