Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (second, left). (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte issued a Chairman’s statementon April 30, one day after the 30th ASEAN Summit closed.
The 25-page statement mentioned concerns expressed by several ASEAN leaderspertaining to recent happenings in the region and concurrently reiterated theimportance of maintaining peace, stability and maritime and overflight securityand freedom in the East Sea.
It also reiterated theimportance of exercising self-restraint when conducting activities, avoidingactions that could complicate the situation, and pursuing peaceful measures indisputes without threatening or using forces.
The statement, however, had no mention of the ruling of the arbitral tribunalin The Hague, the Netherlands in July 2016. The ruling rejected China’s claimsover almost all the East Sea.
The 30th Summit ofthe Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was held in Manila, thePhilippines on April 29 with the attendance of leaders of 10 ASEAN membernations.
At the opening session, Duterte underlined the core priorities of thePhilippines’ chairmanship, which are building a people-oriented andpeople-centred ASEAN, maintaining a peaceful and stable region, cooperating inmaritime security and advancinginclusive and innovative-led growth, promoting ASEAN’s resiliency, andpromoting ASEAN as a model for regionalism and as a global player.
At the summit, theASEAN leaders expressed their concerns over the complicated developments, suchas the tension related to the Korean Peninsula, militarisation activities inthe East Sea, and spreading terrorism threats.
They agreed thatASEAN needs to develop a strong common voice and bring into play its role, thuscontributing to the joint efforts to maintain peace, security and stability inthe region and the world.
They also reiteratedthe need to push for the completion of a framework for a Code of Conduct (COC)in the East Sea by mid-year, creating the conditions for the early formulationof an effective COC.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, thePhilippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.-VNA
The 25-page statement mentioned concerns expressed by several ASEAN leaderspertaining to recent happenings in the region and concurrently reiterated theimportance of maintaining peace, stability and maritime and overflight securityand freedom in the East Sea.
It also reiterated theimportance of exercising self-restraint when conducting activities, avoidingactions that could complicate the situation, and pursuing peaceful measures indisputes without threatening or using forces.
The statement, however, had no mention of the ruling of the arbitral tribunalin The Hague, the Netherlands in July 2016. The ruling rejected China’s claimsover almost all the East Sea.
The 30th Summit ofthe Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was held in Manila, thePhilippines on April 29 with the attendance of leaders of 10 ASEAN membernations.
At the opening session, Duterte underlined the core priorities of thePhilippines’ chairmanship, which are building a people-oriented andpeople-centred ASEAN, maintaining a peaceful and stable region, cooperating inmaritime security and advancinginclusive and innovative-led growth, promoting ASEAN’s resiliency, andpromoting ASEAN as a model for regionalism and as a global player.
At the summit, theASEAN leaders expressed their concerns over the complicated developments, suchas the tension related to the Korean Peninsula, militarisation activities inthe East Sea, and spreading terrorism threats.
They agreed thatASEAN needs to develop a strong common voice and bring into play its role, thuscontributing to the joint efforts to maintain peace, security and stability inthe region and the world.
They also reiteratedthe need to push for the completion of a framework for a Code of Conduct (COC)in the East Sea by mid-year, creating the conditions for the early formulationof an effective COC.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, thePhilippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.-VNA
VNA
