DND chief to meet Carter, Asean peers

From Malaya Business Insight (Sep 13): DND chief to meet Carter, Asean peers

DEFENSE Secretary Delfin Lorenzana is due to fly to Honolulu, Hawaii at the end of the month to meet US Secretary Ashton Carter and his Association of Southeast Asian Nation counterparts.

Lorenzana made the announcement after attending the assumption of new 6th Infantry Division commander Maj. Gen. Carlito Galvez at the 6th ID headquarters in Maguindanao yesterday morning.

"We're going to discuss the security in the South China Sea, security against terrorism and other problems, general problems concerning our security,” he said the Asean defense ministers meeting.

Lorenzana did not elaborate on the specific issue that will be discussed about the South China Sea, or West Philippine Sea where the oil and minerals rich Spratly Islands are situated.

The Spratly Islands chain is being claimed in part or in whole by the Philippines, China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and Taiwan.

A United Nations arbitral court invalidated China’s excessive nine-dash line claim in the South China Sea last July. Also, it said China’s occupation and reclamation of Mischief Reef was in violation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Lorenzana said the Philippines’ defense relations with the US remains strong, amid a rift between President Duterte and US President Barack Obama over human rights issues.

“It’s strong. It’s rock solid as the Americans described our defense relation or relationship,” said Lorenzana. “US is our ally, military ally because of the Mutual Defense Treaty which was signed in 1950s.”

http://www.malaya.com.ph/business-news/news/dnd-chief-meet-carter-asean-peers