Aquino pursues regional peace, talks with China

NAY PYI TAW, Myanmar — President Aquino has called on the support of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ( ASEAN) Dialogue Partners, including the United States, in helping maintain peace and stability in the region and create the necessary conditions for the “unfettered pursuit of the peoplecentered and prosperous ASEAN Community.”

Speaking at Thursday’s 2nd ASEAN-US Summit, here, Aquino said such a call is needed because “as a collec- tion of small and medium-sized states, ASEAN can only do so much.”

He noted at the summit that the US is one of ASEAN’s most important and strategic partners and since the establishment of ASEANUS Dialogue Relations in 1977, “our partnership has rapidly grown and expanded to cover a wide range of areas.”

“ASEAN and the United States are natural partners in upholding the principles of international law and in advancing freedom of navigation, maritime security, and cooperation,” Aquino told the US delegation to the summit led by US President Barack Obama.

And as he underlined the importance of maritime security and cooperation for the region, the President called to America’s attention the issue surrounding developments in the South China Sea particularly the massive reclamation in the area can only escalate tensions.

Aquino informed Obama that the Philippine government is currently taking deliberate steps to resolving this particular issue.

“First, by promoting the formulation of a binding code of conduct, and second, by pursuing arbitration, a mechanism embedded in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,” he pointed out in his remarks.

In the meantime, Aquino said his government is also advocating the implementation of the 2002 ASEANChina Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea ( DOC) in its entirety, especially paragraph 5.

In his intervention at the 40th ASEAN- Australia Commemorative Summit, Aquino noted Australia’s support for these moves encouraging in order for the Philippines to pursue the “right, reasonable, and just path towards stability.”